Fragments
by A Lovestruck A2
Summary: Carter watched her slide down the wall with a sob, her hands covering her face. "You should've said something to me, Lexi. I would've helped you." Her teary eyes met his, and she shook her head. "You don't understand. You're not a murderer." Rated T for now, may be bumped up to M later
1. Prologue

_**A/N: I thought about this, and decided to run with it. I like the idea of Noble Six suffering from some sort of emotional trauma, and the pairing of Fem Six/Carter also appeals to me. So, I'll be doing one.**_

 _ **This fic will mostly follow Halo: Reach canon, apart from some additions/improvements to the story such as an additional seventh member of Noble Team.**_

 **Fragments**

 _Summary: Carter watched her slide down the wall with a sob, her hands covering her face. "You should've said something to me, Lexi. I would've helped you." Her teary eyes met his, and she shook her head. "You don't understand. You aren't a murderer."_

 ***Prologue***

What does it mean to be a Spartan?

Is it really so simple as being humanity's ultimate defense against the alien juggernaut bent on exterminating our kind from the galaxy and leaving us only to be remembered as a failed species in data logs of the future?

Or is it something more?

Does it mean that certain things are to be expected of, such as the complete lack of the very emotions that make each and every one of us human?

And when one shows emotions, that makes them know they are not just a mindless drone, aimlessly slugging it out on a battlefield while their comrades are burned alive by the plasma weapons of our enemy.

That's what I did. I allowed myself to show that I still had some humanity left in me. I showed I was still human, despite the things I've done to my own kind over the years. I allowed the first man who didn't call me a freak or stare in awe to get close to me.

And we both paid for it.

Spartans were never supposed to fall in love. Our augmentations were supposed to eliminate our drive to reproduce in order to make us the perfect soldier. We were trained to not let emotion get in the way of our duty. And I did.

It wasn't long before we were discovered by the Office of Naval Intelligence. And when we were, I was given a choice. Either I kill the man who could see past the armor, or we both face public execution for treason against the UNSC.

In the end, it was me who killed the only person I ever loved. He reassured me everything was okay countless times, that he would never hate me for it and continue to love me even in death.

I was the one who pulled the trigger on that magnum, and watched as the 12.7mm bullet sank into his chest.

I wasn't a Spartan. Not anymore.

I was nothing more than a murderer.

* * *

Carter tapped his chin as he scrolled through the files, his blue eyes carefully reading each word. "Interesting information you managed to get, Adam. This one is unique, even amongst the Spartan IIIs."

A brunette man with black/red Hayabusa armor folded his arms across chest, his gaze calm. "It wasn't easy to dig past the ONI sensors without being detected. But I feel as though it will be worth it. She's special in more ways than just her skill-set, you know."

"How so?"

"Check the middle paragraph, section 1A."

Carter raised an eyebrow, scrolled through until he reached the section in question. Once he started to read it, he understood exactly what Adam meant. "I see. So, she's been through more than just physical hell. Her emotional and mental problems are quite well-documented after the date 2548. I take it there's no information as to why she's suddenly showing these symptoms?"

"Not a thing," Adam grudgingly admitted. "The spooks are keeping that locked up tighter than a miser's purse. But, for all it lacks to tell us, it does show one thing. Something you've been looking for."

"What?"

"She's still human."

Carter allowed a faint smile to creep on his lips, and he closed the file. "Indeed. I'll put in a request immediately for her deployment to Reach. I want you to remain hidden for now, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"And one more thing, Noble Seven."

"Sir?"

"This conversation never happened," Carter replied firmly. "Nothing we discussed inside this room makes it out to anyone."

"Got it," Adam nodded, sliding his Mark VI helmet on and grabbing his custom sniper rifle. Carter watched him go, and he took a sip of coffee before finalizing the request for the deployment.

"Let's see just how human she really is."

 _ **A/N: Chapter 1 will be out shortly, I promise. Tell me what you think in the review section, guys! I would love to hear from you!**_

 _ **C. Strife#5371**_


	2. Clear Cut

_**A/N: Alright, this is the first official chapter of Fragments. Like I mentioned in the prologue, I plan on mostly following Halo: Reach canon for most of this. After that, I don't know what the fuck I'll end up doing. Just make it up as I go along. I do apologize for the delay; a lot of shit went down, and this long-ass chapter didn't help.**_

 **Fragments**

 _Summary: Carter watched her slide down the wall with a sob, her hands covering her face. "You should've said something to me, Lexi. I would've helped you." Her teary eyes met his, and she shook her head. "You don't understand. You aren't a murderer."_

 ***Clear Cut***

The first thing Alexis B-312 felt when she was roused from her brief rest was the gloved hand of the Marine driving the Warthog. "Rise and shine, Lieutenant. The ride's nearly over."

The Spartan woke up with a start, almost instinctively reaching for her magnum. Her helmet was sitting in her lap, gently bouncing with each bump the Warthog hit, and she wiped a speck of dust from the golden visor before slipping it onto her head.

How long had it been since she had even seen another person not wearing the crisp uniform of ONI, let alone work with a Spartan team? She couldn't remember. War tends to make everything seem further than it really is.

And her hands were covered in more blood than anyone else in the Spartan III program. Taken out of Beta Team for special training, her direct superior found her skillset to be far too valuable to be wasted on mere suicide missions and had her work directly for him to take out high value targets, both Insurrectionist and Covenant. The Covenant were easy for her to eliminate without feeling remorse; they were a clear-cut threat, with no morals attached.

But the Insurrectionists were a different matter.

They were a threat of humanity's own making, in a way. It was shortsighted to think that every colony would want to have to obey Earth's authority when they were leagues away. The Outer Colonies were simply too widespread, and some people just wanted to rule themselves.

The Insurrectionists took it to the extreme though. They bombed cities in the Inner Colonies, hijacked cargo ships, and were mobilized. Ending them was supposed to be the Spartan IIs' job. Then the Covenant came, and quelling the rebellion was put on the backburner.

Until Alexis came along.

ONI wanted her to be their pet assassin. A hyper-lethal vector that dwelled in the shadows and didn't exist to anyone except a very select few. And she did her duty, but it was morally messy.

The Inner Colonies didn't know just how close humanity was to falling apart, and loved the propaganda ONI spread to the masses. They wanted to see results that the rebellion was being crushed mercilessly, and so Alexis was sent out to destroy what remained of the rebellion.

She remembered how they begged for her to spare their lives, how they were nothing more than simple people trying to make an honest living in an uncertain galaxy. And she gunned them down, because she was following orders.

Alexis doubted that half of them were actually Insurrectionists. Some definitely were; bomb traffickers and professional thieves who brought nothing but despair. But how many of them weren't?

How many of them were innocents, and were gunned down only for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

How many just wanted to get on with their lives, and were murdered by her hand?

The answer was too many. She remembered each and every one of their faces as they begged for her to let them live. Every single one haunted her.

But that was nothing compared to having to lose _him_. _'Danny…why? Why did it have to be this way?'_

The Warthog screeched to a halt outside of a large command outpost belonging to the Spartan III commando unit Noble Team, and the Spartan stepped from vehicle. The facility had two Falcons waiting outside, and she passed by a bald Spartan loading bullets into the clips for his sniper rifle. His intrigued gaze followed her as she passed by, his hands never ceasing their task.

As she drew near, she could hear the slightly distorted voice of Noble Team's direct superior, Colonel Holland. _"Contact with Visegrad Relay was lost last night. All signals flatlined at twenty-six hundred hours. I responded with trooper fireteams which have since gone MIA."_

"And now you're sending us," an authoritative male voice responded calmly from inside.

Alexis spotted a Spartan with a unique EVA helmet sharpening a kukri on his shoulder armor, and he looked at her while the Colonel continued. _"The Office of Naval Intelligence believes the deployment of a Spartan team is a gross misallocation of valuable resources. I disagree."_

The red/black Spartan stepped forward, and a robotic arm blocked her path. The owner was a woman with piercing eyes and short hair, and she looked over at the Spartan communing with Holland. "Commander?"

The Commander was tall, and he briefly turned to give her a small nod, with the bigger Spartan next to him stroking his large mustache. "So, that's our new number six."

The woman's arm lowered, and the Spartan with the EVA helmet eyed Alexis up and down. "Kat, you read her file?"

"Only the parts not covered in black ink," Kat replied coolly.

The Commander turned his attention back to the Colonel. "Anyone claim responsibility, sir?"

" _ONI thinks it might be the local Insurrection,"_ Holland replied. _"Five months ago they pulled a similar job on Harmony. Hit a relay to take out our eyes and ears, then stole two freighters from dry-dock. That cannot happen here. Reach is too damn important. I want that relay back online, Noble One."_

"Sir, consider it done," the Commander answered, the mustached Spartan next to him picking up a heavy chaingun and walking out.

" _Then I'll see you on the other side. Holland out."_

The Spartan turned to greet Alexis, and the redhead could barely repress a shiver; his blue gaze seemed to be able to see through her armor, and he grabbed his Commando helmet from the table. "Lieutenant."

"Commander, sir," Alexis returned quietly.

"I'm Carter, Noble Team's leader," he introduced himself and pointing to the other members of the team in turn. "That's Kat, Noble Two, Emile and Jorge, Four and Five. You're riding with me, Noble Six." He started to walk towards one of the Falcons, with Alexis in tow, and he let out a heavy sigh as he slid his helmet onto his face, opening up a private COM channel. _"I'm not going to lie to you, Lieutenant. You're stepping into some shoes that the rest of the squad would rather live unfilled. Me, I'm just happy to have Noble back up to full strength. Just one thing; I've seen your file. Even the parts the ONI censors didn't want me to. I'm glad to have your skillset, Alexis. That said, if you have any problems, you come talk to me. Understood?"_

" _Crystal, sir,"_ Alexis replied, her gaze down as she and Carter climbed into the nearest Falcon. _'Insurrectionists, again? Is it my fate to constantly take the lives of my own kind? Or is it punishment for what I've done?'_

"Welcome to Reach," the Spartan next to her chuckled.

Alexis couldn't bring herself to even attempt to crack a smile; the concept was now foreign to her. War had changed her, and not in a good way. It turned her from someone who was more than happy to interact with fellow soldiers to a broken shell of a woman who mindlessly cut down her own kind.

She kept her gaze on the floor of the seating compartment in the Falcon as it flew over the mountainous terrain, even as the Commander informed the team of their objective. "Listen up, Noble Team. We're looking at a downed relay outpost fifty klicks from Visegrad. We're going to introduce ourselves to whoever took it out, and then Kat's going to get it back online."

" _Just get me under the hood, Commander,"_ Kat answered in her calm voice, loading her magnum.

" _Sir, why would rebels want to cut off Reach from the rest of the colonies?"_ Jorge asked.

"You get a chance, maybe you can ask them, Jorge," Carter replied.

A few uneasy seconds passed by, and Alexis felt a sudden change in her suit's communication systems. _'What the..? Is something jamming our COM?'_

" _Commander, we just lost our signal with HQ,"_ Kat piped up.

"Backup channels?" Carter inquired.

" _Searching…nada. Can't say what's jamming us,"_ Kat answered with a sigh.

"You heard her, deadzone confirmed," Carter informed. "Command will not be keeping us company on this trip."

" _I'm lonely already,"_ Emile muttered sarcastically.

The Falcons banked left as the outpost loomed into view, and Alexis prepped her MA37 assault rifle quietly. _'I doubt it's actually the Insurrection. Especially on Reach. But we would know if it were the Covenant. There's no way they'd be able to bypass our orbital defenses.'_

"Shoot down attempts are likely, so keep your distance," Carter ordered the pilot.

" _Yes sir!"_

"Let's stay focus. Watch your sectors."

The two Falcons began to circle in opposite directions, and something pinged on Alexis's radar. _'A distress beacon. From the troopers?'_

" _Reading a distress beacon,"_ Kat alerted.

"Could be the missing troopers," Carter mused, looking down at the flaming Warthog on the ground below. "Let's check it out."

The Falcon circled back around, and the blue/black Spartan pointed towards the top of the hill. "Put us down on the bluff. And Jun, I want your eyes in the sky."

"Sir," Jun nodded in acknowledgment, sniper rifle handy.

The Falcons landed, dropping Emile, Kat, Carter, and Alexis down on the ground. The Commander's boots hit the ground first, and he waved his arm. "Alright Noble Team, let's spread out. Watch the approach."

Alexis's magnum was up, and she could've sworn she caught a slight shimmer running away from the building below. She looked through the scope of her pistol, magnifying everything by 2 times, but whatever it was had vanished into thin air. _'Maybe just my imagination. Wouldn't be the first time I saw things that weren't there.'_

The team made their way down the hill, with Emile climbing onto a rock overlooking the building to get a better vantage point. "Structure point at three-four, looks clear from this angle."

He leapt, landing with a huff, and Alexis followed Carter and Kat down.

"Beacon's coming from just south of here, Commander," the cyan Spartan informed. "We're close."

"Roger that," Carter acknowledged. "Eyes peeled."

Emile joined the three, lifted a piece of crumbling wood, and snorted. "Found the beacon." He tossed it nonchalantly at Kat, who managed to snag it.

"Make out any ID?" Carter asked.

"Negative. But it's military," Kat answered.

" _So where are the troopers?"_ Jorge asked from his Falcon above them.

Alexis took a look at the scene, and her stomach churned. Puddles of blood were scattered throughout, along with spent shell casings, and she did not want to think about what happened to the troopers who lost all that blood. _'No explosives residue? But this was supposed to be the Insurrection.'_

"Why are we not seeing explosives residue?" Kat murmured, bending down and looking at the bloody mess.

"Noble Three, can you confirm any EX residue in the area?"Carter asked, his grip on his M392 DMR tight.

" _Hmmm, negative, sir,"_ Jun replied; Alexis could detect a hint of uneasiness in his tone.

"Plasma, maybe," Emile shrugged, wiping some of the residue onto his fingers. Rain began to pelt down, washing the blood away into the sewer grates, and Alexis began to worry. _'No. Not on Reach. That's impossible.'_

" _It can't be…not on Reach,"_ Jorge vocalized her thoughts from above.

"There's a lot of blood on the ground," Emile noted, kicking over a spent magazine from an assault rifle.

" _Stay focused."_ Carter's voice startled the red/black Spartan, and he continued on when she tilted her head towards him. _"I know it looks bad. And I know you've seen a lot of human death. But we have a job to do. Keep a level head."_

Alexis winked her acknowledgment light green, and she quietly fell in behind him as they circled west to investigate the flames in the next building. A few moa ran past her, screeching wildly, but she paid them no mind; her thoughts were on her first conversation with Noble Team's leader earlier. _'What does he mean, he knows what I've been through? I thought I was supposed to be someone who didn't fucking exist and whose deeds are best forgotten. How could he know?'_

She wondered just how much he knew. _'Does he know that I'm nothing more than a murderer? That I slaughtered my own kind without mercy, even as they begged for me to spare them?'_

' _Dammit Danny…why you? Why did it have to be like this?'_ The memories of her lost love surged like a raging torrent in her mind, threatening to drown any who dared to step into its icy waters. Alexis cut off her suit's external speakers to try and hide a ragged sob behind a cough, her grip on her weapon tight. _'I deserved punishment for what I did, didn't I? Some fucking defender of humanity I am. Nothing more than a murdering monster.'_

" _Six, move into the house. Go in quiet, I'm right behind you,"_ Carter whispered over the COM. Six nodded, silently moving through the abandoned house until she reached a small plaza, the second Falcon briefly landing to drop Jorge off.

" _Commander, I'm showing heat signatures in the structure ahead,"_ Jun warned.

Alexis took position against the wall as the door slid open, and out stepped a terrified man speaking in Hungarian. His hands were up, and behind him two others hid inside as Emile gestured with his shotgun. "Move! On your knees, now!"

"They're not rebels, they're farmers," Jorge scolded. "Look at them."

Jorge was right; all three civilians looked afraid for their lives, and Alexis found a bitter irony in the situation. Here were innocent civilians, staring at the supposed defenders of humanity in fear for their lives. _'They probably expect us to snap any minute and shoot. What delicious irony, expecting the saviors to kill them.'_

"Ask them what they're doing here," Carter instructed, glancing over at the Lieutenant.

Jorge asked something in what appeared to be Hungarian, and the man began to explain to the Spartan II in the same tongue.

"Hiding, sir," Jorge eventually answered. "Neighbors were attacked last night. He heard screams, gunfire. Stopped around sunrise. Said something in the fields killed his son."

"Something?" Carter inquired.

" _Commander, be advised. I'm picking up heat signatures in the structure directly east of your position, over!"_ Jun warned.

"Copy that." Carter turned back to Jorge. "Get them back inside!"

Jorge yelled at them in Hungarian, and they scoured on inside. Alexis started to run towards the building in question with Carter, the Commander sprinting ahead. "Noble Team, double time it!"

She ran until her legs actually began to hurt, even with the MJOLNIR armor enhancing her strength and speed. She reached it first, Carter and Kat behind her, and she felt sick when she saw the scene inside. _'Oh God…what did this to them?'_

Two dead Marines were inside, one impaled by his shoulders on razor-sharp hooks and the other on the floor. Blood pooled from horrific wounds, and Carter grimaced, crouching down to check for a pulse. "Damn."

" _Fill me in, Commander. What do you see?"_ Jun asked.

"We've got casualties, two of the missing troopers," the Commander replied evenly. He looked at the scene once more, shaking a few drops of blood from his gauntleted hand. "It looks like they were interrogated. And it's messy."

' _Messy interrogation? More like a cruel torture,'_ Alexis thought, tearing her gaze away. If she stared for too long, she would see _his_ face on their bodies, and it would remind her of the time she killed him.

She turned right, heading through the building, and she heard footsteps coming from above.

"Movement. Watch your motion trackers," Carter warned. A red blip appeared on the Lieutenant's radar, and she walked outside, magnum ready to fire.

"What the hell was that?" Emile growled, looking around to see where their contact went.

"Jun, do you see anything?" Carter asked.

" _Negative. Thermal's clean."_

Noble Six walked across the plaza and into the next building, and when she passed by an open window, she heard Jun's voice again. _"Boss! I see movement outside the structure!"_

On the roof of one of the buildings was a single Skirmisher, a plasma pistol in hand. Alexis's blood boiled, and she fired two shots into the creature's head as it cawed out for support. _'Covenant!? Here, on Reach!?'_

"Contact, contact! Spartans, assist!" Carter ordered. The Falcon above began to rain down on the large group of Grunts that appeared as support with heavy gunfire, and the Lieutenant grabbed a pair of grenades from a dead Marine, walking down into the basement.

Waiting for her were a group of Skirmishers, and they let out bird-like cackles before firing their plasma weapons. Several of the bolts struck her shields, quickly draining them to twenty-five percent efficiency, and she hissed before leveling her magnum and putting the 12.7 millimeter rounds through their thin skulls.

This was the kind of war she should've been doing. Unlike dealing with the Insurrection, this was clear cut and morally clean. If it held a plasma or alien weapon, she'd put a bullet in its head without a second thought. But if it wore the same face as her, it was much more difficult to think she was the one in the right. Especially when the many she killed were innocents falsely accused of terrorism.

The aliens' bodies hit the ground in bloody heaps, and Alexis slid a fresh clip into her magnum, switching to her MA37 assault rifle and letting her shields recharge. She began to mow down the remaining Grunts, firing short controlled bursts. The frog-like aliens dropped in heaps, blue blood splashing out and staining the ground where they fell.

She lowered her rifle when all of them were dead, and she reloaded, the empty clip falling on the ground. She picked up a few plasma grenades, clipping them to her belt of explosives, and proceeded around the abandoned farm house.

Another trio of Grunts jumped in surprise when they saw the fully armored Spartan, and they didn't even have time to raise their weapons before three shots from a DMR sent them to their grave. Alexis looked behind her to see Carter lowering his weapon, the barrel smoking. _"Don't worry. I got your back."_

Alexis turned away, sprinting over a bridge that crossed a river. A waterfall thundered into a small pond, which in turn raced down the hills. The raging torrent roared, and she stayed under the bridge's cover as a Covenant Spirit dropped off more Covenant troops. Its main plasma cannon fired at her, and she moved from her crouching spot to prevent from getting hit; all it would take were three direct hits before her shields drained completely.

The Grunts fired on the Spartans, and one by one they fell under the group's heavy gunfire. Bodies flew from grenades, and Alexis noticed that Jorge was particularly hostile towards the Covenant as he continued to fire his heavy chaingun mercilessly. "Get off my planet!"

A Grunt threw a plasma grenade at Carter, and he dropped into armor lock, negating the explosive's effects. Alexis dropped it with a clean headshot, and Carter took care of the two Skirmishers with his DMR. "Stand down Noble, stand down. Contacts neutralized."

"Contacts!? It's the damn Covenant!" Jorge hissed angrily, having finally stopped endlessly shooting the dead bodies of the fallen Covenant.

"Cheer up, big man," Emile growled, reloading his M45 shotgun. "This whole valley just turned into a free-fire zone."

"Kat, we gotta warn Holland. I need you at that relay outpost now," Carter ordered.

" _Commander, I'm picking up more activity to the east,"_ Jun warned again from his position in the sky.

"Copy that. We're on our way," Carter replied coolly. The Commander looked at Alexis, gesturing with his hand subtly. _"Lieutenant, take point."_

Alexis nodded, and she lead the way over another river towards what appeared to be a storage shed of some kind. Barrels of hay littered the field, and hiding were several Elite Ultras. They were accompanied by a small group of Grunts, and leading them was an Elite General. The golden armored bastard roared out a command, and the Ultras began to bombard them with plasma bolts from their plasma repeaters.

Alexis made short work of the Grunts, dropping them with precise headshots from her M6G magnum before they could throw their grenades. But the Elites were a different story; they moved with extreme agility, constantly rolling out of the blast radius of Noble Team's grenades.

One Ultra managed to charge Carter, smacking him with the butt of its rifle. The Commander stumbled, his shields flaring brightly, and Alexis leapt, drawing her knife. She took the alien warrior by surprise, tackling it to the ground and stabbing it through its helmet. The blade broke through the tough shields and armor, going through its eye and puncturing the skull for a fatal blow.

" _Thanks for the assist, Lieutenant,"_ Carter grunted, his shields recovering. _"Damn thing blindsided me."_

Alexis's knife slid back into its sheath on her chest, and she wanted to spit on the dead Elite's corpse for good measure. The temptation was burning in her chest, and it took her a moment to realize the burning was a blast from the Elite General's concussion rifle. Her shields flared, and she hissed before beginning to whittle away at the alien warrior's tough shield with her assault rifle. The armor piercing bullets did little more than make the shields flicker a light blue, and that seemed to make it angrier; it charged with a roar of defiance, continuing to fire its weapon and dot the field with small explosions.

Her shields eventually gave way from the constant fire, her suit's alarm blaring as the microcompressors tried to keep the alloy from melting. _'Shit. I wasn't paying attention, and it nearly fucking cost me.'_

' _Ha. Like you'd be so lucky to go out that way.'_

Emile ran forward with an angry yell, getting swatted aside by a pair of Ultras as he fired his shotgun at the aliens. "Die, you bastards! I'm sending you all straight to Hell!"

' _Tch. Talk about cliché.'_ Alexis rolled out of the way of a plasma grenade, slapping a fresh clip into her MA37 and firing at the Elite General once more. It roared at her again, spit dripping from its mandibles, and Alexis reached for her one of her stolen plasma grenades, throwing it at the hinge-head bastard. The sticky explosive stuck to the Elite's mouth, and it roared in panic before it detonated. The Elite's headless body sank to the ground in a heap of purple blood, and a trio of bullets from her assault rifle ended a badly weakened Ultra.

The last Ultra succumbed to the heavy fire from Jorge's chaingun, slumping with a groan of death, and Carter lowered his rifle as Jun warned them again over the COM. _"Commander, I'm seeing more hostile activity to the northeast."_

Carter turned to Emile, reloading. "Emile, you're with Kat. Six and I will run interference on the ground; we'll meet you at the outpost."

"Noble Three, requesting airlift, over," Kat requested.

Alexis, Carter, and Jorge walked down a small bank, where a flatbed truck was waiting for them. _'It's not a Warthog. But it works.'_ Alexis got in the driver's seat, starting it up, and Jorge hopped on the bed, resting his chaingun on top as a makeshift turret.

"Get to work, Noble," Carter commanded. He jumped into the passenger seat, and Alexis began to drive down the dirt roads, the engine letting out a low grumble and the heavy-duty tires kicking up mud and gravel.

She sped past another flock of moa, crossing a river that tumbled off of a cliff, and stopped when she saw a pair of Skirmishers patrolling what looked to be some sort of radio tower in the distance. _'Snipers. Those needle rifles are hell for our shields.'_

She shared a look with Carter, and he nodded, aiming his DMR. Two quick shots, and the bird-like aliens fell to the ground. One of them was still twitching, and Jorge shredded it to pieces with his chaingun cursing in Hungarian as he did so.

The Spartan started to drive again, and when the trio reached another old structure, they were greeted by a golden Spec-Ops Elite with a concussion rifle. It roared, firing its weapon. The small explosions sent the truck into the air, and Alexis tumbled to the ground. Her shields took the brunt of the attack, and she got to her feet before unloading a full 28 round clip from her assault rifle into the alien. Its shields barely flickered, and Jorge joined her in taking the bastard down with a battle cry of his own.

Dozens of armor piercing bullets peppered the Elite as it continued to set off small explosions with its concussion rifle, the Spartans' shields flaring bright yellow. Alexis's own were held about a ten percent charge, and another empty clip hit the ground. _'What the fuck is this thing made of?'_

"I'll distract it," Jorge hissed. "Find a way to get behind it!"

Alexis nodded, and she took off into the building to her right and nearly running headfirst into another Elite, this one a Minor. It jumped in surprise and opened its jaws in a snarl, only to sink to the ground from two quick punches to the head. The protective armor was dented, suggesting the alien's skull caved in, and the Lieutenant looted the grenade from its corpse before continuing on.

In the plaza, Carter was mowing down Grunts and an Elite with his rifle, shaking his head when he saw her. _"Don't worry about me, Lieutenant. I have this covered."_

It was curious as to why he was speaking to her only via private COMs. Just how much did he know about her?

She would've loved to be able to stop and think about it. But the detonation of a plasma grenade below and the angry roars of an Elite reminded her of what was currently more important; Jorge wasn't going to last forever against that golden bastard.

She leapt from the roof of the building, drawing her combat knife. The Spartan landed on the Elite's back, taking it by surprise. The alien roared, only to gurgle as Alexis's blade sank into its throat, tearing through the flesh. It choked out in its native tongue, falling in a heap with blood spilling out from the jagged wound.

Alexis removed her knife, and Jorge got to his feet with a loud grunt. "About bloody time. I was wondering where the hell you ran off too." His shields restored back to full strength, and he fired a few additional shots into the alien's unmoving body for good measure. "Disgusting, aren't they? It takes forever to get their blood's stench from your armor."

Alexis turned away quietly, in no mood to make pleasant conversation even if it was about a shared hatred of a clear cut enemy. A Skirmisher tried to run past her, growling, and it dropped on its back from a pair of rounds from the Spartan's magnum.

" _Looks like we're clear, Lieutenant,"_ Carter informed, walking back over to her with his DMR smoking.

Alexis looked at the truck they were using; smoke rose from the engine and the bar behind the seats looked dented, but it still appeared drivable if she didn't crash it too hard. _'Beats walking.'_ The vehicle was on its side, and she crouched down to grab the bed and flip it onto its wheels. Now the right side up, she got back into the driver's seat, Carter and Jorge taking their places, and she drove off again.

She saw a group of Skirmishers on one of the hills acting as snipers, and her boot pressed into the accelerator pedal to propel the truck faster. The aliens didn't even know of their approach until it was too late, and she hit all three of them. Bones broke, and their blood spilled as their mangled corpses hit the ground. It wasn't the sight or smell of blood that was starting to make her shake a little; it was the sound of bones being shattered. How many times did she hear that very sound come from her own kind when her superiors interrogated suspected terrorists? That sickening crunch replayed itself over and over in her mind, like a record on constant loop. _'How many? How many had to suffer because of me? I don't wish that kind of torture on my own kind.'_

She had been forced to watch as people were submitted to days and days of endless torture, from their bones being broken by pipes to being waterboarded. It made her sick knowing what was going on, and witnessing it with her own eyes made it worse.

"Nice bowling, Spartan," Jorge growled in approval, unaware of the Spartan's memories resurfacing. "I'll be sure to have you on my team."

" _Your heart rate is going up. Take a breath, Lieutenant,"_ Carter whispered. _"That's an order."_

That's an order. Another thing Alexis heard far too often during her time as a killing machine. How many times had she tried to voice a protest against slaughtering a wrongly accused family, only for her superior to say those three words? Once was too many, but the endless times she heard it was to enough to permanently traumatize her.

Her hand trembled on the steering wheel, even as she tried to breathe and steady herself. _'I really can't do this, can I? Even against an enemy that's easy to kill. God-fucking-dammit Danny, I miss you so much. You were the only one who kept me from going insane. And now you're gone, murdered by my own hand.'_

She could feel the cold metal of her deceased lover's dog tags against her chest as her heart continued its stampede inside, and she scrunched her eyes shut as they began to sting. _'No. Don't do it, don't you fucking do it. You're a Spartan, and Spartans don't cry.'_

' _You mean you were SUPPOSED to be a Spartan. Who are you trying to kid? You're nothing more than a murderer.'_ Her heart's thumping grew more and more painful, threatening to burst out of her chest, and her hands began to shake even more.

" _Lieutenant, I'll take the wheel. Take a breather for a bit,"_ Carter murmured. _"I can see you're not well right now. For your own sake, please."_

Alexis stepped out of the truck with Carter, the two pretending to sweep the area for any hostiles. She was sure that Jorge was observing the sudden swap in driver with curious eyes, and it was hard to tell what the big Hungarian was thinking with the helmet over his face. _'Probably thinking I'm unfit for this team.'_

" _Noble Leader, I'm picking up a distress signal. Transmitting it to you now," Jun informed._

A few seconds later, a worried male voice spoke up over the COM, slightly crackled. _"Mayday! Three Charlie Six, does anyone read? We were attacked by Covenant forces. The Covenant is on Reach. I repeat: the Covenant is on Reach."_

"The troopers?" Jorge queried with a growl.

"Let's move, Noble," Carter ordered. "We've gotta find the source of that distress call."

" _No disrespect, but don't we have more important things to do than round up strays?"_ Jun asked.

"We don't leave people behind," Carter lightly reprimanded. "You see those troopers, you let us know." He stepped on the accelerator, and the truck sped off again, kicking up mud from its thick off-road tires.

After thirty yards, Jun had spotted them. _"Commander, I'm seeing possible friendly forces under attack south of your position, over!"_

" _We're under attack, repeat, mayday, mayday, Three Charlie Six, we're under attack by the Covenant. I've got wounded, cannot hold this position,"_ the trooper kept calling.

"We need to find those troopers, now," Carter growled, burying his foot into the pedal and pushing it into the floor.

It didn't take long before they found the site of the attack. A Covenant Spirit was overheard, bombarding the area with its heavy plasma cannon, and Carter pulled in next to one of the farm buildings. "Noble Three, we've located the trooper squad. Request immediate evac. My coordinates."

" _Solid copy, Commander. Recalling Falcon Charlie Two. Hold that evac position."_

Alexis jumped from the passenger seat and dropped a pair of Grunts with her pistol. The small aliens fell, and the aliens took notice of the more serious threat. Plasma fire washed over her shields as she mowed them down with precise headshots, and eventually the weapon clicked empty. _'Out of ammo.'_ In frustration, she chucked the empty sidearm at a Grunt. The alien squealed in surprise, and soon turned into a mangled heap of flesh from the combined fire of Carter and Jorge.

" _Noble Leader, be advised: I have visual on inbound Covenant dropships."_

"Evac transport, keep your distance!" the Commander ordered. He turned to Alexis, jerking his head over to a fallen DMR next to a dead Marine. _"Six, hold this position. Clear an LZ."_

The red/black Spartan picked up the precision weapon and a few additional magazines of ammo from the dead soldier's chest pouches. She kept her gaze down on the ground; if she looked, she was sure to be drawn to the ugly plasma burns that covered his body and melted half of his face.

One of the Marines wobbled over to them, a plasma burn on his arm and a jagged cut on his cheek. "Spartans? Corporal Travis, Three Charlie, sir. It's the Covenant…" Blood trickled down his cheek, snaking its way like a crimson river to his neck, and he looked fatigued from the fight.

"We know, Corporal. Let's get you out of here," Carter replied calmly.

A pair of Spirits swooped in like eager predators, unloading the Covenant forces they carried. Grunts, Jackals, and a pair of Elite Officers landed on the ground, filling the air with plasma and purple crystalline needles. One trooper screamed in pain as one needle lodged in his arm, and it detonated after he tried to tug it out to no avail. Blood showered the ground, and the Spartan began to return her own fire.

The rounds from her DMR made short work of Grunts, their small bodies adding to the Lieutenant's kill count.

Plasma washed over her shields, and she took cover behind the flaming remains of a Warthog to let them recover. They started to recharge, and she primed another grenade, throwing it over towards the crowd of aliens. The corpses of a pair of Jackals flew through the air, and she heard a few cheers from the tired Marines. "Hell yeah, Spartan! That's some nice fucking work!"

A soldier poked his head out from his cover, and immediately slumped to the ground with a long crystalline needle protruding from his skull. His assault rifle fired a wild burst harmlessly into the sky, and Alexis tore her gaze away to focus on the alien bastard responsible. It was the Elite Officer, and it took aim at her with a battle cry of defiance.

It charged her, firing its weapon as it did so. The purple needles quickly drained Alexis's shields, and one broke through the tough alloy of her MJOLNIR armor. She bit back a yelp of pain, gripping the needle and yanking it out before the damage could be done. Blood flowed from the wound, the suit's built-in biofoam injectors sealing the wound and numbing the pain.

Alexis gritted her teeth to bite back a hiss of pain and emptied her DMR into the alien bastard's face. The first four shots struck its shields, surprising the alien, and it coughed up mouthfuls of blood as the next three found their mark in its throat. It raised a clawed hand, tried to prevent the blood flowing from the wounds, and its head snapped back from a single lash of her hand. The sickening sound of the Elite's neck being broken filled her ears, and she pushed the corpse aside.

The second Elite paused from firing at Carter and Jorge, snapping its mandibles angrily at her. It opened its mouth to snarl something in its native tongue, and its hateful eyes were soon fearful as a plasma grenade found itself stuck to its forehead. It let out a panicked yell, claws desperately trying to remove the explosive from its head, and the grenade detonated in a brilliant blue flash. The headless body fell to the ground moments later, and a few curious Jackals met their end via Carter and Jorge.

With the Covenant forces dead and the LZ cleared, Carter directed for the two Falcons to land on the bloody ground. "Transport, LZ is clear. Move in for evac."

" _Affirmative. Transport inbound."_

The two Falcons landed, with the remaining Marines getting on one and the Spartans on the other. Once they were in their seats the two aircraft took off towards the sky, and the one carrying the Marines sped off in the distance presumably to take them to the nearest UNSC base for medical treatment. Alexis watched them go from her seat, wondering just how many would refuse to get their wounds treated or had families of their own waiting for their return.

Alexis didn't have anyone like that in her life. No one was waiting for her, nor did anyone care if she were to suddenly drop off the face of existence and meet her end via an energy sword. The last person who did care about her ended up murdered by her own hands. _'Why did we have to get caught? Why did I have to be a Spartan? If I weren't, things wouldn't have turned out the way they did.'_

' _You'd still be alive.'_

"Noble Two, sit-rep," Carter requested, a hand on the side of his helmet as they flew around a large mountain with a winding road leading to the outpost.

" _We're at the relay outpost,"_ Kat answered, the whine of plasma weapons occasionally breaking over the COM along with muffled swears from Emile. _"The door is locked. Mechanism's been flash-fused."_

"Can you beat it?"

" _I dialed up my torch, cut a way through. Going to take some time."_

"Okay," Carter breathed. "We're en route to your location."

The Falcon flew over the courtyard, and Alexis could see the Covenant horde intent on killing the two Spartans below.

" _Approaching the COM Outpost,"_ the pilot called out, circling the craft.

"Drop us in the courtyard," Carter ordered calmly.

" _LZ's a little hot, sir—"_

"Put her down, pilot." Carter glanced over at the Lieutenant, the new member of Noble Team feeling his concerned gaze even with the helmet on. _"Lieutenant, are you sure you can still fight? I can have you taken back to base with Jun."_

The red/black Spartan shook her head.

" _You sure?"_

A simple nod.

" _Alright, Lieutenant. Then let's get to work."_

The dropship landed, and Carter, Jorge and Alexis hit the deck guns blazing. A Jackal turned to face them, and was immediately blown to bits by a blast from Emile's shotgun. "Take that, asshole!"

' _Classy.'_ Alexis nearly ran into a Grunt. The alien jumped in surprise, only to squeal in pain as the butt of her rifle smashed its skull. The body fell on the ground, and she leapt over it, firing her DMR at a Jackal sniper as she did. Three out of the four shots hit their target, tearing the bird-like alien's face apart.

"How are we doing, Kat?" Carter asked, backing up into the facility with Jorge flanking him. The cyan Spartan was on one knee hard at work trying to hack her way through the controls, her hands working on the wires in the door, and Alexis took up a position just inside the facility to keep the Covenant off their backs.

"Taking a little longer than I would like, Commander. I've cut about halfway through the door," Kat answered calmly, not even flinching as a plasma bolt flashed over her head. The would-be assailant was a Grunt, and the alien was quickly dropped by a pair of shots from Alexis's DMR.

"Hold them off until Kat can hack the controls," Carter ordered the team, taking up a position on the other side of the door.

"Contacts!" Emile warned, heading outside and crouching behind a barrier.

A pair of Covenant Spirits swooped in, flanked by two Banshees, and the dropships began to unload more Covenant troops into the courtyard. Elites, Grunts, and Jackals alike dropped to the ground and concentrated their firepower onto the small group of Spartans.

Plasma washed over Alexis's shields again, and she aimed her rifle at the nearest Elite Major. The alien warrior yelled out a battle cry, only to fall with a gurgle as she fired five armor-piercing bullets into its throat. Once the Elite fell, a pair of Grunts panicked and each drew two plasma grenades before running towards the Spartan. _'Suicide squad. They're practically mindless, unable to think for themselves and need a superior to tell them what to do.'_

' _Remind you of anyone? You're the same fucking way. When ONI tells you to jump, you ask how high. Mindlessly obeying orders even though you knew they were wrong.'_

She reloaded her rifle, ejecting the empty fifteen round clip and slapped in a fresh one before sending the two suicide Grunts to an early grave. The explosives in their hands fell on the ground, detonating and sending their bodies flying into the air. One landed on a Jackal, and it jumped in surprise before falling in a bloody heap courtesy of Carter. Alexis turned to look behind her briefly, and he paused to reload his rifle as well. _"I got your back, Lieutenant. Try and flank them from the vehicle bay to the right."_

She nodded and switched for her assault rifle, the automatic weapon better suited for the close quarters of the vehicle bay. She ran past a forklift, tossing a grenade at a pair of Jackals creeping up on Jorge while he gunned down another Elite. He nodded his thanks, growling angrily at the seemingly infinite Covenant horde intent on killing them all. "Get! Off! My planet!"

A Grunt stepped inside, and Alexis shoved the barrel of her rifle into its mouth and squeezed the trigger. A controlled burst of 7.62 rounds tore out the back of its throat, and the alien fell lifeless. A Skirmisher cackled at her, peppering away with its plasma pistol, and it too sank in a bloody heap after a trio of holes appeared in its head.

A grenade detonated next to her, draining her shields. She winced as she felt a plasma bolt strike her leg, and her suit bled out a shrill alarm. The pain was intense; she'd probably have a burn scar to add to her growing collection of permanent injuries. _'Dammit!'_

She found her assailant, an Elite Officer with a plasma rifle, and started to whittle down the alien's shields with her assault rifle as her own recharged. Dozens of bullets mercilessly bombarded its shields and pierced through the armor, tearing through the Elite's abdomen. It actually caught its own intestines before it died, purple blood pooling out rapidly from the wounds. _'Good riddance.'_

The powerful plasma cannon from a Banshee soared towards Carter, and he dropped down into armor lock to absorb the explosion harmlessly. He primed a grenade and threw it, the small explosive lodging in the space between the alien aircraft's wing and cockpit. When it went off, the Banshee burst into purple flames and the wreckage crushed a pair of Jackals giving Jorge a hard time.

And then, things got worse by the arrival of a third Spirit, this one carrying an Elite General with an energy sword.

"Kat?" Carter asked, looking back towards the facility as he realized the danger their new foe possessed. "We need that damn door open now!"

The Elite charged, roaring out in defiance, and it swung its sword at the nearest target Alexis. The Spartan rolled under the blade, her assault rifle snapping up and firing seven rounds. The last seven in the weapon. _'Shit! I'm out!'_

The alien snarled in its native tongue and slashed at her again. The blade soared over her head by inches, making static wash over her HUD, and she lashed out with the butt of her rifle. It stumbled, mandibles clicking in what seemed to be amusement. Another blade extended from the armor on its left wrist, and Alexis groaned inwardly. _'You've got to be fucking kidding me.'_

She threw the empty rifle at the alien, drawing her own knife as she did. With a single flick of its wrist, the Elite's energy sword sliced the weapon in two, and its dagger clashed with her own blade. The alien growled in frustration, trying to bring its sword down and cut her arm off.

She struggled back, her own strength starting to fail against the larger and stronger opponent, and she twisted her body to try and use its size against it. The sudden movement surprised the alien warrior, and its sword arm slammed into the ground. The plasma blade slid away, and Alexis could feel the alien getting even stronger as it panicked.

Still blocking the plasma dagger with her knife, she reached with her free hand and found a fragmentation grenade. She pulled the pin and shoved the explosive right down the alien bastard's throat and leapt off in a hurry. The Elite screamed before exploding, showering her armor with blood and bits of bone, and she slid her knife back into the sheath. _'Fucking hell. That was too close for my liking.'_

" _Lieutenant, get inside now!"_ Carter ordered, standing by the heavy metal door and firing at a pair of Skirmishers. Alexis sprinted inside, feeling a hot sledgehammer strike her in the back. It was an overcharged burst from a plasma pistol, and she stumbled in the door as her shields slowly recharged from being completely drained again.

The door slammed shut behind her, and she took a deep heavy breath as she picked up a fully loaded assault rifle from the floor inside. She wasn't used to fighting the Covenant quite like this; when she did engage them, it was usually via long distance from an SRS99 sniper rifle or planting explosives on Covenant encampments and blowing to hell from a mile away.

"Emile, you're on security detail," Carter ordered, shouldering his rifle. "We flush out any hostiles, they're all yours to engage."

"With pleasure, boss. Those Covenant cowards are going to have to do the tango with me before I let them set one fucking foot outside alive," Emile chuckled darkly, pumping his shotgun and taking up position by the entrance.

The door leading inside the complex slid open, and Alexis's enhanced eyes were on high alert as the Spartan team made their way inside. The control room was dark, with most of the equipment showing signs of heavy plasma damage, and lying in a pool of his own blood was a civilian male in his late sixties.

Alexis crouched down to inspect the body, and Carter ran over to a badly wounded Marine lying slumped against the wall. "Where's the rest of your unit?"

"We got split," the soldier gasped out, holding a hand over a nasty wound in his stomach. "I don't think they…it sounded bad on the COMs."

"Alright Corporal, state put," Carter reassured. "We'll get you a combat surgeon."

Kat inspected the equipment in the control room, and she cursed in frustration. "Fuck. Plasma damage."

Alexis found a small data module fall out of the dead man's hand, and she didn't even have it in her hands for more than a second before Kat snatched it away. "I'll take that, Six. Not your domain."

The nerve of this woman made Alexis want to hiss out at her.

"I've got a live one over here," Jorge called, dragging out a young civilian woman. "Come on, out you come." The woman was yelling angrily in Hungarian, punching the Spartan's armor in a vain attempt to break free. She struggled to remove his gauntleted hand, continuing to yell out, and Jorge let out an exasperated sigh as he placed his chaingun on the floor to look her dead in the eye. "Keep still, and I'll release you."

The woman stopped, and she whimpered out a warning in Hungarian. "Meg…it vannak."

The software in Alexis's helmet translated it in a heartbeat, and no sooner had it finished than three Elite Zealots leapt down from ceiling. The one in the middle carried an energy sword, and it snarled angrily as Jorge covered the girl with his bulky body.

" _What's your status, over!?"_ Emile yelled out.

"We've been engaged!" Carter yelled back, firing at the charging alien. Alexis's assault rifle peppered its shields from behind as it missed a sword swing at Kat, and the alien knocked her down on the ground effortlessly before running away. Her weapon clattered to the deck, and one of the Zealots pounced on her, plasma dagger prepared to stab her.

The blow missed, and Alexis punched it squarely in the face. The alien hissed, snapping its mandibles at her, and it was soon kicked off of her by Carter and Kat. The two Spartans quickly drained its shields as it struggled back to its feet, and Carter kicked Alexis's assault rifle back to her as she stood up.

The two Zealots were holding the Marine between them and the Spartans as a shield, and they disappeared further into the complex. _'The fucking cowards!'_

" _That tango blew past me. Permission to pursue and beat it to death with its own severed head,"_ Emile requested with a growl.

"Negative Four, stay on the entrance," Carter ordered. "Two, handle the civilian. Five and Six, clear the hole!"

Alexis nodded, reloading her assault rifle and being flanked by Jorge. She found herself standing in the corridor the two Zealots vanished through, and the bigger Spartan slammed the door shut with a grunt. He threw a flare out towards the far end of the corridor, and out of the shadows stepped one of the hinge-head bastards. It made a gesture with its clawed hand and fired its concussion rifle, the small explosions sending various crates flying.

Out from behind those crates stepped several Jackals and Grunts, and Jorge leaned to hiss out an order. "Take the Zealot! I'll distract them for you!"

His chaingun thundered as dozens of bullets shredded through flesh and armor, and Alexis sprinted past the Grunts and Jackals to take down the Zealot.

The alien roared out a challenge, firing its concussion rifle and charging. Three direct hits took out her shields, and she grimaced at the stinging sensation as she returned fire of her own. The assault rifle did little more than anger the Elite, and it swung its own weapon as a club. The Spartan slid underneath the strike, and before it could turn around she leapt onto its back, grabbing its head and snapping its neck. The Zealot choked as it fell in a heap, and she tried to keep the sound of bones breaking from making her shake; alien or human, the sound of a neck being snapped produced some very bad memories she tried hard to keep suppressed. _'Dammit. Focus. Focus on getting rid of these bastards.'_

Turning right, she lobbed a plasma grenade towards a small group of Jackals. The sticky explosive landed in the middle of them, and they drained her shields with a barrage of plasma bolts and needles unaware of the grenade until it was too late. One brilliant flash later, and four bodies were sent into the air, hitting the ceiling and plopping back down.

"Watch out!" Jorge growled, stepping up next to her and firing. He barked out in Hungarian, and Alexis's translation software had an epiphany with the slew of insults the Spartan II yelled. Jorge was basically calling the Covenant intestinal vermin and saying he would use their spines to hang up his coats. Not a particularly pretty image.

She fired a trio of short bursts, and three Grunts hit the cold metal floor in splashes of blood.

She stopped when she found herself standing in a large corridor with several metal pillars on the floor. A single path to the right lead down to the platform, and Jorge grunted as he joined her. "There's more. Flush them out; I've got you covered."

Alexis nodded, and she sprinted down the path to her right. A few Grunts stepped out from behind the metal pillars, only to fall from the Spartan's precise headshots. However, the small aliens weren't her worry. Rather, it was the angry Elite Zealot with an energy sword ignited in its clawed hand.

The alien roared out in fury, charging her and not flinching as bullets from Jorge's chaingun whittled away at its tough shields. Alexis backpedaled, firing her DMR at the bastard's ugly mug as she moved out of reach of the plasma blade. The Elite's head snapped back with each shot into its elongated head, and the shields still held as it closed the distance between them.

' _Dammit, why won't you fucking die!?'_ Alexis had paused to reload, slamming the next clip in as fast as she could. Elite was only a handful of feet away, and it cocked its sword arm back in preparation for a fatal strike to the Spartan, only to fall in a heap just short of her. She frowned under her helmet. Had she gotten in a lucky shot?

She turned to see the Marine the Elites used as a meat shield lying against the wall, blood gushing from a jagged cut in his abdomen. The barrel of his magnum was smoking, and he grinned in pain at her. "I owed you one, Spartan…"

His head lolled, and he shuddered as the last breath left his bloody lips. Alexis walked over to his body, and blinking back the wetness forming in the corners of her eyes, closed the dead soldier's. He had died after saving her, a noble deed. _'Yet another soldier dead trying to save you. How many families are ruined because of you?'_

" _Noble Five reporting in,"_ Jorge growled gruffly. _"Contacts neutralized."_

" _Good work. Kat needs you to reset a junction. Do it and get back here at once,"_ Carter ordered.

Alexis rose to her feet, walked over to the panel, and pressed it.

Even if this fight was clear cut, that didn't make it any easier on her broken mind.

* * *

Carter let out a sigh while Kat removed a panel on the control room's main computer. "How long?"

"Question of my life," Kat snorted in response, her toolkit out. "If you're asking when will this station be back online? Two weeks, earliest. This is serious plasma damage. All major uplink components are fried."

"Two minutes is too long," Carter returned, crouching over her.

"Which is why I'm cracking into the main overline bundle to get you a direct line to Colonel Holland," Kat continued, giving him a dirty look from under her helmet. "And you're in my light, Commander."

So, she was still irritated at him for not revealing all of Noble Six's information or where he got it. He supposed it couldn't be helped; Adam's existence was kept secret from the rest of the team, and revealing a secret seventh member of Noble Team wasn't going to be sunshine and rainbows.

He looked over at Jorge, pointing to the civilian girl they rescued. "Find out what she knows." Even as he gave the order, his eyes weren't completely on the lone Spartan II. No, they were for the newest addition of Noble Team.

The Lieutenant had been through every kind of hell imaginable, Carter was aware of that much. It was why he had decided to communicate with her directly via private communication channels; he even suspected her of turning her suit's external speakers off in the beginning of the mission to hide just how bad her condition was, and he noticed that her heart rate spiked tremendously whenever they encountered dead fellow soldiers.

Carter sighed. She had seen far more death than any of them; he knew that from her file. But her track record showed stability up until 2548, and then she started showing severe signs of PTSD. _'Just what the hell happened in that year that did this to her?'_

Jorge was conversing with the girl in Hungarian, murmuring too quietly for him to really understand, and Carter looked back at Noble Six. She was standing motionless against the wall with her helmeted gaze on the ground, and the Commander furrowed his brow in concern; even from the distance separating them, he could see the slight shaking of her shoulders. _"Lieutenant? Are you okay?"_

He winced almost as soon as the words left his mouth. He should know better; the girl wasn't the slightest bit okay, and he could've sworn he saw a brief flash of silver from her chest. _'What the hell is that?'_ He blinked, and it was gone.

Noble Six gave a brief nod, though her vitals said otherwise; her heart rate was spiking, along with her breathing. _'She's not okay. Something happened to her. Something that fragmented her mentally.'_

It was his duty as Commander to care for the members of his unit regardless of who they were or what they went through. And just because she was the newest member did not mean she didn't get the help she needed, whether she was aware of it or not.

"The girl lost her father and needs a full psychiatric work-up," Jorge informed, walking over to Carter after he growled something at Emile.

"She's not the only one," Emile scoffed. Jorge turned to glare, looking like he wanted to put his fist through the grey Spartan's visor.

Six visibly flinched at Emile's remark, and Carter's gaze hardened under his Commando helmet. "Lock it down, both of you. Get her on her feet. The body stays here."

"Thank you, sir, "Jorge murmured quietly. He gave Emile a dirty look and walked over to the girl with his hand extended.

' _They never did get along. Even when we have a job to do, they still bicker like children,'_ Carter thought dryly. He kept one eye on Noble Six, and even though the woman was encased in the armor, he could tell Emile's remark stung her even if it was directed at Jorge. _'I'll need to ask Adam if he can find out anymore about her records. For now though, I'll just observe and lend a hand when she needs it.'_

"Got a signal," Kat announced, putting a hand on his shoulder before turning away. "It's patchy but it's still there. Try not to touch anything, sir. You wouldn't want to ground this place."

"I'll take it," Carter replied, removing his helmet to begin conversing with Colonel Holland. He was not going to be happy about the news of the Covenant on Reach.

" _I'm barely receiving you. What's your status, over?"_ Holland asked.

"Colonel, this is Noble One. There are no rebels. The Covenant is on Reach. Acknowledge?"

" _Come again Commander? Did you say 'Covenant'?"_

"Affirmative. It's the Winter Contingency."

" _May God help us all,"_ Holland breathed. _"I'll send you in for an op to combat the Covenant forces on Reach once we learn more. For now, head back to HQ. I want a full debrief of your encounter."_

"Yes, sir. Carter out." Carter ended the call, and he sighed, putting his helmet back on. Things were already going to hell faster than he anticipated; on his plate were the Covenant invading Reach, a mentally broken Spartan and ONI doing something to cover it up.

"Why can't shit just be nice and clear for once?"

 _ **A/N: And that concludes the longest fucking chapter I've ever written for one of my fics. No, really.**_

 _ **Not all chapters will be this long though. Only when I write the missions themselves. And to think that Winter Contingency is the shortest mission in the campaign...*shakes head***_

 _ **Next up, some trigger warnings will apply. Mainly the more emotional side, but there will be some serious violence like torture and whatnot. I'm warning you ahead of time, so don't bitch at me and say I didn't warn you.**_

 _ **Till then, tell me what you think so far.**_

 _ **Discord: DPLxBeAsTxSnIpE #5371**_


	3. Calm Before The Storm

_**A/N: Hello all. Back with chapter 3 of this Halo story. Remember how I said be careful of the trigger warnings? Well, here we are. Basically, it's torture. Had to take a bit of a breather after that last monster chapter, too. I don't even want to fucking know what I'm gonna have to do for some of the other missions. Looking at you, Pillar of Autumn mission *brandishes fist***_

 **Fragments**

 _Summary: Carter watched her slide down the wall with a sob, her hands covering her face. "You should've said something to me, Lexi. I would've helped you." Her teary eyes met his, and she shook her head. "You don't understand. You aren't a murderer."_

 ***Night Watcher***

Carter sighed as he sat up in his cot, unable to sleep. Despite the weariness that gnawed at his bones, the relaxation he so desperately craved refused to come. _'Dammit. One more reason to despise leadership, I suppose. Ever since being promoted to Commander, I haven't had a single restful night.'_

He wasn't blind; he could tell that the arrival of their new Noble Six didn't sit well with both Kat and Emile. The two of them had been close with Thom, and his death did take a pretty big toll on both of them. He supposed it was only natural that they'd prefer to leave his shoes unfilled. _'They see her as trying to be a replacement, even though Six knows she isn't.'_

Carter's blue gaze flickered up towards the ceiling of his quarters, the fluorescent light beating down on him, and he let out a loud yawn. _'Fuck it. If I can't sleep, I might as well get something done.'_

If he couldn't do it naturally, he'd just wear himself out in the gym until his enhanced body couldn't handle any more. It would help clear his head, and he always felt good after a hard workout. The burning feeling of lactic acid eating away at his muscles, the pounding of his heart rapidly beating in his broad chest, and the soothing nature of sweat dripping from his body made him more at ease.

Carter pulled on a pair of sweatpants and blue Grifball shirt, cracked his neck, and left his quarters behind to go to the gym and think about their latest mission with a clearer head.

While the mission to bring Visegrad Relay back online had technically been a success, part of it still irritated the Commander. The damn Elite Field Marshall that got away had likely rejoined the Covenant, along with whatever data it managed to steal from the relay. _'Dammit. I did give the order not to pursue, because we had more urgent matters to attend to. But it does mean we allowed a high value target to escape.'_

As much as he would have loved to continue berating himself for that mistake, there was no sense in him beating up a dead horse. He'd have to live with that decision and take the hit. Though knowing he screwed up with giving the order didn't make it easier. He had sent Adam out to deal with the little issue, but he hadn't heard back yet, and Carter gave the order a few hours ago.

The gym loomed in front of him, and the heavy metal doors hissed open for him to reveal a bit of a surprise. Normally, he'd expect Emile to be inside endlessly abusing punching bags until they split and left sand everywhere for Carter or Jorge to clean up.

But instead, it was Noble Six.

The woman didn't look quite like the Commander anticipated. Her red hair was tied up in a near ponytail, and she was exceptionally well muscled for someone who was used primarily as an assassin. She was using the holographic simulator, the small circles rapidly spinning around her, and she was hitting the targets as face as she could.

Her movements were fluid and graceful, and the Commander found himself entranced by the sheer beauty of it. It was far more than just a simple martial arts practice; it was a dance, and the more he watched, the more he realized she was fighting imaginary opponents. Three Elites, armed to the teeth with energy swords and plasma daggers built into their tough alien armor.

She ducked under an imaginary sword swing, and responded with a kick to the abdomen. Two quick punches to the jaw followed.

Even outnumbered, it was clear to Carter that the woman was always in control during a combat situation, always composed.

So, why did she constantly have this aura of pain and sadness lurking over her like a dark storm cloud?

He wasn't a fool; he could see the way the Lieutenant carried herself during their mission. And though she demonstrated the skillset deserving of her status of hyper-lethal, she was not someone in the best of mental states according to the file Adam dug up on her.

Despite the Spartan's best efforts, he was unable to crack the code on her at the moment; Adam's attempts of bypassing the black ink in her failure had so far resulted in failure, and the Commander didn't like that. ONI was trying very hard to keep the details of Noble Six's file hidden from their eyes, and that was enough to arouse suspicion. _'Just what are they hiding? What are they trying so hard to prevent us from seeing?'_

While he wanted to know whether or not it was bothering the Lieutenant, Carter wasn't sure if he wanted to know the full details.

Carter continued to watch Noble Six until the drill was finished, and he nodded in approval as he made his way over to her. "Those are some impressive moves, Lieutenant. I'm glad to have you on our side."

He meant every word, of course. Someone with her skillset didn't just grow on trees. Even amongst the Spartan IIIs, her skills put her in a tier higher than any other S-III. The only one who could say they were also a hyper-lethal vector was the legendary Master Chief himself, John-117.

However, Noble Six didn't seem to agree with him. She didn't vocalize her disagreement, but there was no need for her to. Everything Carter needed to know flashed in those sorrowful eyes of hers, and by the way she turned away from him.

The Lieutenant picked up a dark red towel, wiped her face down, and threw it over her shoulder quietly. She brushed past him without saying a word, and yet at the same time, her lack of vocal communication wasn't necessary.

Carter sighed. "Lieutenant, get some rest. You'll need every bit of strength you can get tomorrow." _'And maybe we can get some more answers to the questions we have.'_

Noble Team had gotten a call about coming in to protect the Office of Naval Intelligence's research facility on the Babd Catha Ice Shelf, Sword Base; Reach's long range radars in orbit picked up the transmissions of a Covenant Corvette on a course towards it, and the Spartans were called to make sure the facility didn't fall into Covenant hands.

Normally, Carter wouldn't bring Adam along for the mission; he didn't want the other members of the team finding out about their seventh member. But this was an opportunity that very rarely revealed itself. They would be going into the base itself, and that would mean it would be easier for Adam to get access to an all number of ONI data files, including the file on their latest addition. _'He's going to need an armor enhancement if he wants to get in and out of there as quickly as possible without being spotted. An active camouflage unit, to be precise. Only problem is I don't know where to get one.'_

' _Wait…what about that Covenant bastard that escaped?'_

Noble Six left the gym, leaving Carter by his lonesome, and the Commander pulled out his headset from his pants pocket and put it on his head. "Noble Seven, come in."

" _Read you loud and clear, Commander,"_ Adam replied promptly. _"What's going on?"_

"Nothing yet." Carter walked over to the gym doors and locked them; he didn't want any interruptions. "But I think I know of a way we can get you into ONI's databases without arousing suspicion."

" _Really? Please, tell me more. I'm listening with quite a bit of interest."_

"We need to get you an active camouflage unit," Carter explained. "As a soldier in the field, I normally don't have access to high end Covenant technology. That said, a good starting point might be a certain Elite Field Marshall that a Spartan who doesn't exist is pursuing."

" _I like the way you think, Commander."_ Adam was probably grinning like a kid told to go crazy at a toy store. _"What if the current owner doesn't exactly want to cough up, regardless of my offer?"_

"Then take it by force. Call me when you've gotten your hands on it. Carter out."

So much for hoping for a simple workout.

* * *

Adam smiled coldly under his Mark VI helmet. His order to kill the Elite Field Marshall had been slightly revised, and he was all too happy to oblige his Commander's wishes. _'Stealing alien tech to get a good peek inside ONI. Heh. I like it.'_

Right now, he was tracking the bastard hinge-head; they absolutely could not let it rejoin the Covenant, with the amount of ONI excavation data it stole from Visegrad. It would spell trouble, and be a bigger pain in the ass to deal with. So far, he had followed the alien warrior several miles into Reach's wilderness, all the while keeping himself out of range and out of sight of it.

Adam rested his SRS-99 sniper rifle against his shoulder, looking through the scope. He could see the hinge-head, camped out amongst the wilderness with its head constantly on a swivel. It was paranoid, making it more dangerous.

Adam liked dangerous.

And when he zoomed in closer, he could see what he was after. A small alien device attached to the back of the Elite's ornate armor. _'Gotcha.'_

It was an active camouflage unit, and when activated it rendered the user invisible for a solid thirty seconds. It was perfect for stealth, and yet, the Field Marshall didn't have it running.

Adam's lip curled under his helmet. _'Their fucking arrogance is so typical. And that will be the cause of their death.'_

He silently crept through the bushes, placing his rifle across his back and drawing his combat knife from its sheath. The blade rested in the pale of his hand, and when he was within range, he threw it.

The blade whistled through the air and sank into the back of the alien's knee, piercing through the armor and tearing through the soft flesh underneath. The Elite roared in pain, collapsing on all fours, and Adam withdrew from his hiding place with a satisfied smirk on his lips. "Finally caught up to you."

He yanked the knife out, shaking purple blood off of it and tearing the active camouflage unit from the alien's back. "Do you have any idea how much of a pain in the ass it was to track your arrogant ass down?"

The Elite couldn't move; instead, it glared at him, its mandibles clicking as it growled in its language.

"Sorry, what was that?" Adam held a hand to where his ear would be, mocking him. "I'm afraid I don't speak your alien bullshit. Seriously, what the fuck makes you guys so damn special? What gives you the right to do the shit you do?"

The Elite was silent for a second, though when it next spoke, its gravelly voice was thick with anger. "There is honor in our path. But your kind? Humanity? You're nothing more than a disease that must be purged from the galaxy—"

"Really? Because it seems this _disease_ is right in front of your fucking face, and you can't do jack shit about it," Adam growled in response. "In fact…this disease is gonna indulge in a little payback for all the shit you've done."

He dragged his knife against the alien's armor-clad face, chuckling at the brief flash of terror in the Elite's eyes.

"You are a coward. Timid and weak," it hissed.

"Weak? Hah. Tell me if a weakling can do this." Adam raised his knife and stabbed the son of a bitch in its right eye.

Blood splashed out, and the Elite roared in pain as Adam then cut down through its face and into its mouth. The Spartan then twisted, causing more pain for the alien. "You are the fucking coward. How noble is it to glass a planet from orbit, hmm? Answer that."

He punched the Elite in the head. The alien's skull caved in, puncturing its tender brain, and it slumped to the ground with a gurgle of death.

"Oh wait…" He knelt down and yanked the data chip it stole from Visegrad from its armor, pulling his knife out.

"You can't say a fucking thing now, can you?"

Adam put the chip in his leg pouch, and he made a call to the good Commander. "Noble One, this is Noble Seven. Target has been eliminated, and the objectives have been secured. Returning to base now."

" _Good work, Adam. Let's see if we can't find out what the spooks are up to."_

" _We're just getting warmed up here."_

 _ **A/N: And that does it for this one. Next chapter will be another long one (ONI: Sword Base), and hopefully we won't have a massive fucking delay between chapters. Really am sorry about that. peace!**_

 _ **Discord: DPL #5371**_


	4. To War

_**A/N: Hello all, and welcome to chapter 4 of Fragments. The previous chapter was admittedly a little bit on the shorter side, so this one (the mission ONI: Sword Base) will be longer to counter it. Hope you all enjoy!**_

 **Fragments**

 _Summary: Carter watched her slide down the wall with a sob, her hands covering her face. "You should've said something to me, Lexi. I would've helped you." Her teary eyes met his, and she shook her head. "You don't understand. You aren't a murderer."_

 ***To War***

 _July 26, 2552_

 _Babd Catha Ice Shelf, Esposz_

Even in her armor, Alexis couldn't help but shiver as her and the rest of Noble Team flew over the ice shelf that hid ONI's secret research facility, Sword Base. They were coming in to assist in driving off Covenant forces that were attacking the base, and yet the Spartan's thoughts were elsewhere during the flight, not even noticing Kat sliding a chip into the data module they recovered from Visegrad Relay.

She didn't expect Carter to enter the gym the previous night during her practice. Alexis had hoped that she would be able to have the time to herself to calm down after the vivid nightmares of witnessing torture plagued her again, but it seemed as though fate decreed otherwise. The Commander didn't say a word to her about it today, but she had a feeling he knew far more than she thought.

" _Be advised, Kilo-Three-Three and Kilo Three-Four, your current LZ is too hot,"_ Sword Control warned over the COM. A Covenant Corvette loomed in the distance, its heavy plasma cannons firing at the base.

"Roger that," Carter acknowledged. "Dot, standby to receive and respond."

" _Yes, Commander,"_ Noble Team's AI answered. _"Coordinates received. Initiate immediate course correction. The Office of Naval Intelligence Sword Base is presently under siege from a corvette-class Covenant vessel. Due to the sensitive nature of this facility, use of orbital rounds has been, for the moment, prohibited. Regrettably, my efforts to obtain relevant data on enemy forces have been unsuccessful. However, current defensive forces are insufficient. ONI has requested Team Noble's direct intervention to help secure Sword Base."_

"That explains the shitty wake up," Emile grumbled from his seat.

"Alright people, we're stuck with that ship for the time being. Let's focus on the hostile infantry; give those troopers a helping hand," Carter commanded.

"Whoopdee-fucking-doo," Emile growled, earning an annoyed huff from Jorge.

"Kat, Six, you're out here," Carter ordered. "Jorge, Emile, you're next. Get prepped."

Kat slid a clip into her M6G pistol, jerking her head roughly. "Let's move, Lieutenant!"

The Falcon lowered to the ground, and Alexis and Kat jumped down onto the ground, joining the Marines who were trying to handle the Covenant assault.

The red and black clad Spartan switched for her DMR, and her rifle snapped up once an Elite Officer came into view. The alien warrior roared a challenge, and Alexis answered the call with six rounds hitting the alien in the face. Its shields broke, and the Elite stumbled. It returned fire, plasma bolts flashing over her shields, but it was already too late; one shot to the head later, the Elite was dead.

The Spartan saw a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye, and she rolled out of the way as a Grunt tried to sneak attack her with two grenades alive in its hand. _'Great. Now that the Elite is dead, the Grunts became panicked.'_

She swapped for her MA37 rifle, firing short bursts into the Grunts. The small aliens fell to her, and she proceeded across the small bridge just before the courtyard. In it was a Covenant attack force led by an Elite Ultra, and it roared at her. Blasts from its concussion rifle followed, and Alexis ducked behind the walkway cover on the other side.

However, she quickly had to move again, as a pair of Jackals opened fire on her immediately. Their plasma pistols glowed with overcharges, and she rolled out of the way of one green burst. Unfortunately, a Marine caught the plasma bolt to the face, and he screamed as his skin boiled away.

His shotgun fell to the ground, and his body followed suit.

Alexis brought up her rifle and fired, aiming for the small gap between the aliens' personal shields and their hands. Shell casings started to litter the ground, and dozens of armor piercing bullets shredded the bird-like aliens. A little revenge for the life they just took.

Alexis discarded her spent rifle, throwing it at a Grunt that was walking up the landing to attack her. The butt of her rifle smacked the alien in the head, snapping its neck. _'Shotgun it is.'_

She picked up the close-quarters weapon, pumping some of the eight gauge shells into it, and she remembered one of the reasons her lost lover always liked carrying on of them. _"Heavy is good, Lexi. If it doesn't work, you can hit the bastard with it."_

She felt a tear slither its way down from her eye and to her cheek. _'You told me to live out both of our lives. Easy to make that promise, wasn't it?'_

She was glad Kat was on the other side of the bridge, firing her rifle at the Covenant. The fewer who knew about her mental state, the better. _'Carter is already getting a little too close for my liking. I don't want him to put the rest of the pieces together.'_

Alexis aimed the shotgun at an Elite Minor and fired. The heavy blast broke through the alien warrior's shields, and it stumbled. She fired again, and the alien minus its head fell to the bloody ground. There was a bit of a twinge of satisfaction that crept into her mind after the Elite fell. The satisfaction of having one less hinge-head kill more of humanity.

A plasma bolt nearly struck her in the chest, and she whipped around to see three Grunts waddling up the ramp with their pistols overcharging. _'Oh, no you fucking don't.'_

She grabbed a grenade from her belt, pulled the pin, and let it fly. Two seconds ticked away, and she was rewarded with a loud explosion and three bodies flying in the air.

"Hell yeah, Lieutenant!" one of the surviving Marines cheered. "Let's knock some heads together!"

A flurry of needles stuck themselves into the Marine's arm, and he tried to yank them out with a panicked yell. However, he was soon put out of his misery by a plasma bolt to the face courtesy of another Elite.

The alien roared, charging at her and firing its plasma rifle madly at her. Blue energy bolts flew over her head, and Alexis whacked it in the face with her shotgun. The Elite bellowed in pain, and it caught a shell in the chest. _'All that's left to worry about is that damn hinge-head with the concussion rifle.'_

The white-clad alien was firing angrily at Kat, whose shields couldn't take the punishment for much longer. They were flaring brightly, and she grunted out as she took cover to reload her rifle. "Dammit! Six, distract this bastard!"

Alexis spotted a weapon she was far more comfortable with, an SRS99 sniper rifle. Next to the long range weapon were a few clips of ammo and two grenades, and she swapped her shotgun for it. _'Trickier to use up close, but I'll need its range and firepower.'_

After she picked up the rifle, she tossed two grenades at the Ultra in an attempt to get its attention. The Elite's strong shields flickered, and it roared out at her. _'Well, great. I was hoping the grenades would do more damage than that.'_

The Elite ran at her, firing its weapon. Bursts of plasma exploded around her, and she gritted her teeth as her shields began to dwindle. She spotted a fusion coil, and she ran towards it, hoping the alien would follow her. It did, unaware of the trap the Spartan was laying for it.

Once it was practically on top of it, Alexis fired her DMR at the coil. It exploded, and sent the Elite skyward. Blood rained from the sky, and Kat let out a chuckle at the sight. "Nice fireworks display, Lieutenant."

Noble Six reloaded her DMR, spinning to her left as a pair of Skirmishers ran from the bottom of the courtyard. Fire from their pistols filled the air, and Alexis dropped them with precise headshots.

"Noble Two to Sword Control: courtyard is clear, over," Kat said.

" _Head to the main gate to the east. I'll brief you as you go,"_ Sword Control informed.

The two Spartans walked down to the main gate, and Alexis took the time to fit an armor lockdown ability to her suit; she'd need it in a pinch to buy time if the Covenant brought out something heavy like a Wraith.

In the other ordnance packs were DMRs and a Target Locator, perfect for wiping out an entire platoon. Alexis picked the Locator up, putting her DMR across her back.

Kat saw the device in the Lieutenant's hands. "Sword Control, I see a Target Locator. Any artillery support in the area?"

" _Limited, but we'll prioritize whatever you need, ma'am."_

The two Spartans walked out of the base, and above the Corvette opened fire on the base. In the distance, Alexis could see a damaged Warthog, obviously being pursued by some kind of Covenant vehicle.

" _Three Echo Five-Seven heading back to base, but we've got enemy tangos on our six. How copy?"_ the driver asked. Unfortunately, two Covenant Wraiths came into view and blew the vehicle to bits, killing its occupants.

"Six! Use the Target Locator on those Wraiths!" Kat bellowed.

The Wraiths opened fire, using the Covenant's most devastating ground weapon, the energy mortar. The tanks fired blobs of blue-ish white plasma, obliterating anything they struck.

One blob of plasma landed on a pair of Marines, and the Lieutenant winced at their agonized screams and the smell of cooked flesh.

She aimed the Locator in a spot between the two alien tanks, and the laser guiding system locked onto the two tanks. _'Two corpses, one grave.'_

Heavy artillery bombarded the area, and both tanks erupted into flames. A Pelican dropship flew overhead, carrying with it a Warthog.

"Outstanding!" Kat yelled. "Pelican, coming in with transport."

The Pelican landed, dropping the Warthog onto its wheels, and from the inside jumped down five Marines.

" _The old Farragut Station has its own comms array. That should bring us back online with Command. Airview Base has an anti-air battery that will help clear the skies,"_ SWORD Control informed.

"AA gun is to the west, comms array to the east," Kat said to Noble Six. "Let's roll."

Alexis got in the driver's seat of the Warthog, thinking under her helmet. Communications were absolutely necessary, and they didn't need to worry too much about incoming aerial assaults for the time being.

Kat hopped in the passenger seat, letting a freckly-faced Private take the gunner position, and the Lieutenant took off to the east

"Good call. Let's get comms back first." Kat shouldered her rifle, and Alexis pushed her foot to the floor. Mud spat out from underneath the armored vehicle, and her grip on the steering wheel tightened when she rounded the corner and saw a Ghost piloted by an Elite. Its plasma cannons would wreak havoc on their Marine occupant, and it needed to be dealt with first.

Alexis slammed her foot on the accelerator and rammed into it. Bits of purple armor fell from the vehicle, and the Spartan could hear its occupant hiss in its native language. However, much to her satisfaction, they were soon replaced by roars of fear as the force of the Warthog slamming into the Ghost pushed it off into the icy depths.

"Nice driving, LT!" the gunner yelled in approval, swinging the machinegun around and mowing down the Grunts. The heavy rounds shredded them to bits, and he didn't stop firing until the last Grunt was no more than a heap of flesh and blood. "All clear, Lieutenant!"

Alexis spun the Warthog around and drove up the cliffside.

"Hope that comms array has a working generator," Kat mumbled once the station came into view. She reloaded her rifle, and motioned for the Lieutenant to halt. "Wait! We've got a Revenant!"

Revenants were the Covenant's answer to the Gauss Warthog; they fired a less powerful version of the Wraith's energy mortar, but were far more maneuverable than the tanks, making them a deadly assault craft.

"Oh man, fuck this," the Marine sighed in the back. "Please tell me you have a plan that doesn't involve me being reduced to fucking ash."

"I do." Kat nodded, and she motioned for the Lieutenant to get out, pointing to the building on the left. "Search that building for any explosives, and make your way up to the second floor. Private, take cover on the right ridge. I'll put a rock on the pedal, and slam it into the Revenant. Six, you'll finish it from above."

"Sounds good to me." The Marine grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "Just make sure you leave me a few hinge-heads to kill; a little payback for my buddies is in order."

Alexis ignored him, and she proceeded into the building Kat pointed to. Inside on the far side of the room was an M41 rocket launcher, perfect for taking out smaller vehicles and groups of infantry. The Spartan hefted the heavy weapon onto her shoulder, and Kat initiated her plan once she silently crept onto the open balcony.

" _Now!"_ Kat yelled over the COM. The driverless Warthog drove into the Revenant, bursting into flames, and Alexis fired her rocket launcher at the damaged craft. Alien metal flew everywhere, and the Elites driving the Revenant were blasted to bits.

Unfortunately, the loud explosion also alerted the rest of the Covenant in the area.

Two Jackals with needles rifles focused on her, the long purple needles quickly draining her shields. Alexis fired again, and pieces of the aliens went skyward. She dropped the spent launcher, switching for her DMR, and took out two Grunts with precise headshots.

She still had her SRS99 rifle, and she propped the rifle against one of the structure's wooden railings to provide extra support. She clicked the button on the side, zooming in with the scope, and fired at an Elite that got too curious for its own good. The rifle cracked, and the alien's headless corpse fell to the ground.

She saw a trio of Grunts on the other side of the valley, and the Spartan fired again.

Two shots, three bodies.

" _Six, go in from the bottom. I'll cover you from the top,"_ Kat said.

Alexis flashed her acknowledgment light green and leapt from her position. She landed and broke into a sprint, DMR ready. A curious Jackal wasn't able to move its shield into position while it descended a pair of old wooden steps, a plasma pistol in hand, and it fell from two quick punches that broke its spine.

Her motion detector picked up three hostiles above her, probably waiting to tear her apart with plasma weapons. Alexis grabbed two grenades from her belt, pulled the pins, and tossed them up into the little room. The explosives went off, and she was rewarded with the orange body of an Elite Officer flying out of the window and landing thirty feet away.

She could hear Kat fighting upstairs, the other Spartan's rifle mowing down their enemies with ruthless efficiency. Perfect for a Spartan.

' _You're not like them. Don't pretend to be something you're not, murderer.'_ Alexis never felt at ease around other Spartans, even during her time in training with the Headhunters. They were the perfect assassins for dealing with the Covenant, but she never had to deal with the alien bastards anywhere near as often. She was a killer of man, not alien.

"Lieutenant, your heart rate just spiked,"Kat said, concerned. She joined her, reloading her rifle. "Are you doing okay?"

Alexis blinked; she hadn't noticed her breathing had increased. Her fragile mental state wasn't something she wanted any of the other members of Noble Team to discover, especially Carter.

She nodded in response, and she could feel Kat looking at her skeptically despite the helmet. However, the cyan Spartan motioned to follow with her head without further questions. "Come on; that generator isn't going to start itself."

' _Aren't you the tech expert?'_ Alexis wanted to say in return. However, she wasn't sure if she opened her mouth to respond that a sound would even come out; she rarely talked at all nowadays, closing herself off from everyone.

However, she followed her partner up to the generator and pulled the lever, starting it up.

"Generator is up and running. Find that comms array; it should be up high," Kat said.

Alexis and Kat started to move towards the adjacent building when a Spirit flew overhead, its plasma battery firing at them.

"Dammit! Get into cover!" Kat hissed. She opened fire with her assault rifle, armor piercing bullets harmlessly deflecting off of the dropship's hull, and out jumped a group of Skirmishers.

Alexis growled quietly. _'Of fucking course. It had to be them.'_ Out of all the Covenant she had to deal with so far today, Skirmishers were by far the most irritating. They weren't durable; a few shots to the body was enough to kill them. But the damn things were always in packs, and moved very fast.

Alexis steadied her shaking hand and fired her DMR.

The Skirmishers began to drop like flies, and though they continued to pepper her shields with plasma bolts, she stood strong. An empty magazine hit the ground, and the Lieutenant reloaded.

They were clear.

She sprinted over to the building and ran up to rickety steps, activating the comms array. They now had communication with command back, and things were looking a little bit better for Sword Base.

" _Noble Two, this is Sword Control. Thought you could use some local firepower."_ A Pelican with a fresh Warthog flew overhead, stopping briefly to drop the vehicle on the ground.

"Always." Kat chuckled. "Take the wheel, Six. We need to get that AA gun back online."

Noble Six gave a quiet nod of response, clamoring into the driver's seat. Their Marine ally joined them, and he was in pretty bad shape. A series of slashes had cut through the armor on his chest and a plasma burn was forming on his cheek from a near miss, but he gave the Lieutenant a bloodstained grin and climbed in the back to control the machinegun. "Don't worry, LT. I gave as good as I got."

How was it that Alexis was able to stare death without a moment's regard for her own life, yet when faced with the scenario of seeing her own kind dead, she still felt queasy?

Kat jumped into the seat next to her, and she shook her head. The answer to that question would have to wait.

Alexis spun the Warthog around, driving over a crest. They were greeted by a Ghost that was on patrol, and its Elite occupant let out a startled roar as the Warthog's heavy body crushed the small vehicle. The Elite struggled to remove itself from the twisted hunk of metal and the Marine spun the gun around to tear it to bits.

"How do you like that, you fucker!?" he yelled, continuing to shoot its bullet-ridden corpse. "Here's some more for you!"

Alexis stopped on top of a hill, and the Spartan jumped out of the Warthog. She switched to her sniper rifle, and she saw an Elite General on top of the bunker with a plasma launcher. Inside the building were several Grunts, supported by two Elite Officers and a Phantom dropship overhead.

This wasn't going to be easy.

"This doesn't look like it'll be an easy ride," Kat remarked with an annoyed huff. "But the power source from the AA gun is on top of that bunker."

"I'm itching for a good fight," the Marine said, growling in determination. "I have a few bullets I haven't used yet. Shame for them to not be lodged in some hinge-head's throat."

"Then go on and have fun." Kat scoffed, and the Marine gave her a grin before running over to start shooting at the Grunts.

Alexis paid the smaller aliens no mind. The main threat was that damn golden-clad bastard on top. _'It needs to die, and now. Once that asshole is dead, they will panic and scatter, making it easy to take them down.'_

She fired two shots from her sniper rifle. The Elite General's shields flared brightly, and it stumbled in surprise. It tried to focus its heavy weapon on the Spartan, and the third shot tore through its armored head.

The General fell to the ground, and Alexis reloaded.

The Grunts inside the bunker all panicked, exactly as she had planned. Switching for her DMR, she put them down quickly, and she made a break for the bunker. A destroyed Warthog lay across from it, and an Elite Officer jumped in to man the turret. _'Bastard!'_

She hadn't seen the ruined vehicle until now.

She grabbed a grenade from her belt and let it fly. The plasma grenade stuck to its mouth, and it leapt from the gunner seat with a panicked yell. Its claws desperately tried to claw it off, and it detonated.

The body flew some twenty feet away, and she felt a twinge of satisfaction. It felt strangely _good_ to kill the Sangheili in the ways she did, whether it was with her sniper rifle, bare hands, a grenade, or her knife slitting its throat.

But it didn't do much to help with the horrible amount of guilt and pain in her heart. _'This doesn't make you any better, murderer. You may have done humanity a service by killing the enemy, but you murdered your own kind for more than a decade.'_

"Lieutenant! Look out!" Kat yelled.

Alexis looked up, and she saw the Phantom overhead had decided to drop off its troops. A Ghost dropped down, and it immediately began to fire at her. Plasma washed over her shields, and they rapidly dwindled. _'Son of a bitch!'_

She gritted her teeth, taking cover behind the doorway of the bunker. _'Dammit. I don't have much of a shot. But it'll have to do.'_ She poked out briefly and fired.

The Grunt driver fell out of the seat, and the Ghost came to a stop.

A trio of Elite Rangers flew around, creating havoc for Kat. Their Marine companion was lying dead on the ground in a bloody puddle, with half of his right arm burned off and a hole from a Needle Rifle in his chest. Kat was growling in anger, using short controlled bursts from her rifle to not waste ammo. However, her shields were rapidly dwindling, and it was only a matter of time before they broke completely and she was in a bad spot.

Alexis killed one with a clean shot through its shiny visor, and Kat smacked another one in the body with her rifle. "Thanks for the assist, Lieutenant. Now get that gun online; I'll hold them off for you."

Alexis ran up through the bunker, and she activated the AA gun.

It spun around and began to fire at the Phantoms in the distance. One dropship exploded, and Kat finished off the last Elite. Objective complete.

" _Noble Strike, this is Noble Leader. Get back to Sword Base ASAP,"_ Carter ordered over the team's COM.

"On our way, Commander," Kat replied evenly. "Six, let's go."

The Lieutenant jumped from her position on top of the building, picking up a few extra rounds for her sniper rifle, and yet another Pelican flew towards them.

" _Good work, Spartans. Return to Sword Base; the rest of your team is inbound, imminent."_ Sword Control informed, and the Pelican dropped off a Gauss Warthog on the ground. Instead of the usual heavy machinegun, the Gauss 'Hog was fitted with a heavy railgun that could destroy a Wraith in seconds. It was as perfect of a vehicle as it could be.

" _Noble, be advised, that damn Corvette is moving into position,"_ Carter warned. _"Kat, Six, get here quick. We need you inside."_

Alexis jumped ran towards the Warthog with Kat in tow, and the Lieutenant Commander grabbed hold of the gun. "Alright. Time to get to work. Step on it, Lieutenant!"

Alexis mashed her boot into the pedal and the Warthog took off.

She rounded a corner and they were immediately attacked by a pair of Ghosts. The agile crafts opened fire on them, and Alexis grimaced as a few plasma bolts hit her. Her shields flared and Kat fired the Gauss cannon.

The Ghost burst into flames immediately.

The second Ghost charged at the two Spartans, and Alexis spun the vehicle out of the way at the last moment. The Ghost crashed into a tall rock and Kat destroyed it with one blast from the cannon.

Alexis backed up and proceeded to Sword Base, where she let out a frustrated growl. Assaulting the base were two Revenants, and they could rain hell on them.

Kat opened fire with the Gauss cannon, yelling out over to the Lieutenant. "Try to outmaneuver it!"

Alexis nodded; she was one of the best pilots in the Sabre program, and she was skilled enough to drive or fly any UNSC craft short of a frigate. If anyone could run circles around a Revenant, it was her.

"Alright! Let's show these bastards how it's done!" Kat continued to fire at the Revenants while Alexis drove evasively, using the rocky and uneven terrain to her advantage. One of the alien craft attempted to pin her against a rock and missed. It exploded upon impact with the rock structure, and the Lieutenant jumped the Warthog over the second.

While in the air, Kat took one hand off the gun to throw a grenade. It bounced into the Revenant's cockpit, and the Elite occupant was blown to bits.

They were clear.

Alexis stopped by the main gates, punching in the correct code to open them.

" _We're stuck in the tower atrium. Kat, where are you?"_ Jun asked.

"Opening the gate now," Kat replied.

The heavy gates hissed open, and they were immediately attacked by more Covenant forces (presumably dropped off by the Corvette) occupying the once-cleared courtyard.

"Dammit!" Kat hissed in annoyance, firing her rifle at the alien invaders. "There's just no fucking end to them!"

Alexis looked at the Warthog, and she noticed that it was possible for her to get it over the heavy concrete barriers.

She just needed a little boost.

"What are you looking at?" Kat asked. She followed Alexis's gaze, and she nodded. "Got it. I'll use my Armor Lock to launch you."

The Spartan sprinted back to the Warthog and floored it. Kat timed her Armor Lock perfectly, and when she burst out of it, the vehicle was launched ten feet over the barriers.

"Nice plan, Lieutenant. Allow me to return the favor." Kat jumped into the gunner's seat again, firing the heavy cannon at the aliens. Bodies began to fall, and Alexis drove through the courtyard until they reached the entrance.

And when she looked inside, she knew they were in for a rough time.

Two Hunters had a Marine squad pinned down, their heavy plasma cannons never ceasing their fire. Occasionally, one or two of the Marines would be able to poke their head out to fire a short burst from their rifle, but they would immediately be forced back into cover. They didn't have enough firepower to take the armored giants down.

But now, they had two Spartans to help them out, with a mostly intact Gauss Warthog.

"Great. So much for this being simple," Kat muttered. She shouldered her rifle, reloading it. "Got a plan?"

Alexis nodded, and she stepped on the gas again. _'This could be suicidal. But if it gets the job done, fuck it.'_ She rammed into one of the Hunters, and it flew across the room before sinking to the ground in a heap of flesh and metal.

One down, and one angry son of a bitch to do.

The second Hunter, furious at seeing its partner die, let out a mighty roar and swung its thick shield at the Warthog. The vehicle spun across the room, throwing the Spartan out.

Alexis winced and got to her feet, firing her DMR directly into the gap between the behemoth's armor where its head would be. Orange blood splashed out, and the alien toppled forward from a heavy blast from a Shotgun. She looked to see Kat standing in front of her, the barrel of the close-quarters weapon still smoking. "You alright?"

Alexis gave a nod of response and continued on, smashing her rifle against a curious Grunt. It fell back and an Elite let out an angry roar before firing at her with its needler. Purple needles flew towards her and she ducked behind a doorway to reload.

Once the fresh magazine was in the DMR, she opened fire. Five headshots later, the alien warrior minus its head fell dead.

"Let's get to the atrium," Kat said. The two had been fighting nonstop for quite some time now, and yet neither were showing any signs of fatigue. "We have to go through the elevator. Take it."

The two Spartans stepped inside the elevator, and once it started to rise, an explosion rocked it.

" _Corvette's hitting this fucking base hard,"_ Emile said in annoyance.

"Where's our orbital support?" Kat demanded. "Got to be four platforms that could take it out with a single MAC round."

The elevator pinged and swung open, and the automated PA voice greeted them. **"Welcome to the Office of Naval Intelligence. An ONI representative will meet with you shortly."**

"I doubt that very much," Kat said with a scoff.

" **Thank you, Lieutenant. You have been cleared for access."**

Alexis's shields flared brightly, and she stumbled; no sooner had she stepped out than she was attacked by an Elite Officer, plasma rifle in hand. _'Dammit. I should've known better.'_

The alien warrior charged, and Kat ran to intercept. She knocked it back with her robotic hand, and she followed up with another wicked punch to its face. The sickening crack told Alexis that she had broken the Elite's jaw and neck with that hit.

She made quick work of the Grunts, who had panicked at their leader being slaughtered, and another set of blast doors opened to reveal the inside of Sword Base. Inside the multi-level room were Covenant and Noble Team. They were reunited.

"Hold it!" Jorge yelled over the sounds of gunfire and screams of pain. "Everybody, move up!"

Carter ducked behind a pillar to reload his DMR, and he jerked his head to the Lieutenant after they finished off a trio of Jackals. "Six, head upstairs and assist Emile. Jorge, make sure she gets there."

"Depend on it." Jorge let out a grunt. The two quickly went up a ramp to the left to the second floor, and Alexis beat three Grunts to death with her hands.

In the next room was an Elite Ultra and it jumped in surprise. Its hand reached for its rifle, and Jorge cut it down in seconds. Dozens of armor piercing bullets tore the Elite into a bloody pulp, and he chuckled. "Like that? I got some more for each of you."

Alexis could only roll her eye and sigh. She never understood taunting the enemy like that, or why it was so appealing.

They proceeded across a large bridge to the third floor where even more Covenant lay waiting. A pair of Jackal snipers fired at her, and the Lieutenant switched to her sniper rifle. Two shots, two bodies.

The Elite Officer let out a growl, charging her and clicking in its native tongue. Alexis ducked under a swing and drew her knife. The blade parted through the armor, much to her surprise; she assumed the bastard would've had its shields active.

The alien howled in pain as the blade cut into the soft and tender flesh beneath. It stumbled, and Jorge smashed his heavy chaingun into the warrior's face. "That's for Harvest!"

The base shook again from another explosion.

" _Corvette is going to eat this base apart,"_ Sword Control said worriedly. _"What's the situation, Noble?"_

" _I can't do this shit on my own,"_ Emile said reluctantly. _"I need another Spartan up here!"_

" _Six, hurry up and get to the top floor to give him the assist he needs,"_ Carter ordered.

Alexis flashed her acknowledgment light green and proceeded up a flight of stairs. Now on the top floor, she ran past a group of Marines making short work of three Grunts and two Jackals. She went to run across the last bridge when a bright green blob of plasma energy narrowly missed her head.

Standing opposite to her position was an Elite General with a fuel rod cannon.

' _Son of a bitch. I need to kill it.'_ She went to fire her sniper rifle when Jorge appeared by her side, huffing a little.

"You damn young kids are always giving me headaches." He was probably glaring at her. "Let me handle this bastard. You worry about Emile."

Alexis nodded and made a break for it. She rolled under another burst from the Elite's cannon, and she fired at another Jackal sniper. Its rifle clattered to the ground, and Alexis switched out her nearly empty DMR for it.

Two Grunts got a little curious, and they were immediately killed by the rifle's long purple needles.

When she reached the top floor, she saw it was in ruins from an explosion; the Corvette overhead was even closer now, and the base shook again. Alexis went through a doorway, and she saw a massive hole in the building. Several Banshees flew around, firing at Emile. The Spartan had a M41 rocket launcher in his hands, and he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing her arrival. "About fucking time."

He tossed her a spare launcher, motioning to several crates on the floor. "Lock and load! Have fun!"

Alexis dropped her needle rifle and picked up the launcher and a few extra rockets. She was going to need them.

Jorge joined her shortly, and he and Emile concentrated their fire on a Phantom that started to fly in. The craft exploded under the merciless salvo, and Emile chuckled darkly as debris rained down. "Nothing like killing these sons of bitches, am I right?"

Alexis aimed her launcher at a Banshee and fired. The heat seeking missile locked on, and the craft blew up.

She repositioned herself to avoid a second Banshee's heavy cannon and fired again. The second Banshee crashed to the ground below in purple flame, and Emile gave her a thumbs up in approval. "That's the way we get it done, Spartan! We're clear!"

" _Noble Team, Longswords are inbound and ready to push. Orbital defense is standing by to take the shot,"_ Sword Control informed.

Two Longswords flew towards the fleeing Corvette, and they soon broke off. A MAC round penetrated the Corvette from above, and the alien vessel crashed into the lake.

"Beautiful, ain't it?" Jorge's voice startled her; for a big man, he was pretty capable of being sneaky. "Someone ought to take a picture. Nice work, by the way."

Alexis gave a quiet nod, breathing under her helmet.

A five second awkward pause was soon broken by Carter on the COM. _"Five, Six, get down to the science wing. Doctor Halsey wants a debrief and Command is saying we're all hers."_

"Repeat? It sounded like you said Halsey," Jorge said.

" _I did."_

"Copy that. On our way." Jorge's hand dropped, and he chuckled. "Don't need Command to tell me. I've been all hers half my life."

* * *

Carter kept quiet when Jorge and Noble Six joined the rest of Noble Team, and he tried to not let his irritation show. Halsey was not an easy person for him to deal with, with her condescending attitude towards the Spartan IIIs in general. If she weren't behind a shield door, he might've been tempted to cuff her, and hard.

"I requested your assistance Commander, and do not need a report on events that occur on my own doorstep," Halsey said. "What I do require is a detailed account of your previous engagement—"

She stopped midsentence, looking at the new arrivals with a faint smile on her lips. "Jorge. It's been too long."

"Ma'am." Jorge gave her a respectful nod, taking his helmet off.

"What have you done with my armor?" Halsey asked, almost amused.

Noble Six stood away from the rest of the team, but she did take her helmet off. Her green eyes were sad, and her overall posture screamed, 'depression'.

Carter refrained from asking her about it; it was neither the time nor the place. He would do it the next time they met by themselves.

"Just some additions I've made," Jorge replied with a nervous laugh.

"Indeed." Halsey's smile faded, and she was stern once more. "Visegrad Relay. Its data center was home to one of my xeno-archaeologits, Professor Laszlo Sorvad. Perhaps you could shed some light on his death?"

"If he was a civilian male in his mid-sixties, he died with a Covenant energy sword through the abdomen," Carter answered.

"Elites, then." Halsey's eyes narrowed. "Tell me about them."

"Three, Zealot class," Jorge replied. "One got by us. The leader, by the looks of him."

"Zealots?" Halsey frowned in curiosity. "Are you sure?"

"Armor configuration matched, as did the shield strength," Emile answered with an irritated growl.

"I gave the order not to pursue. Our primary objective was to get the station's relay back online," Carter said. _'No need for her to know about Adam. He recovered the data, and it's safe and sound back at Noble Base.'_

"Your primary objective?" Halsey snorted in disgust. "Commander, are you a puppet or a Spartan? There are those at ONI, myself included, who believe the Covenant dispatch Elite advance teams to hunt down artifacts of value to their religion. Survivor accounts suggest such teams are small, nimble, and almost always Zealot class. No doubt they came to the station for the abundance of ONI excavation data stored there, and you let them get away."

Carter stood his ground; he really despised this woman. "Data retrieval was not a command directive. Even if we had known, we had other, more urgent matters to attend to."

"Like warning the planet," Kat added.

Halsey paced a little, her jaw tight. "Professor Sorvad's final entry in his field notes made reference to a latchkey discovery. Latchkey. Not a word he would use lightly. So let's hope that the data module your Lieutenant Commander stole contains it?"

Carter gave his second in command a look. "Kat?"

Kat dropped the module into a container in the shield door, and Halsey took it back with an irritated sniff. "Before you ask, I was alerted the moment you attempted to access its contents, as I am with any unauthorized tap. That data is classified Tier One. I could send you to the brig for interfering with my work."

Carter leapt to his teammate's defense immediately. "Maybe you'd like to join her."

"I'm sorry?" Halsey looked genuinely confused.

"We're currently under emergency planetary directive, Winter Contingency," Carter answered. "I'm sure you're familiar with the punishment for civilian interference with a Spartan deployment."

"Are you threatening me, Commander?" Halsey didn't seem offended; instead, she seemed amused that Carter even suggested it.

"Just making a reading suggestion. Let's move out, Noble Team," Carter ordered.

Kat, Emile, Jun and Jorge went out first, and Carter walked over to Noble Six. The redhead woman met his eyes, and she finally spoke to him for the first time since their mission to bring the relay back online.

"Good on you, showing her the way you did."

Carter let out a chuckle and gave her a pat on the arm. "I'd do anything for my team. You included, Lieutenant."

He wished she wasn't so damn difficult to read.

 _ **A/N: Ah, fucking finally. I don't know why this took so fucking long, but I am glad to have it finished. Next chapter should be in another two-three weeks, depending. Leave your thoughts below, and tell me what you think I can improve on. See you soon!**_

 _ **Discord: DPL #5371**_


	5. Under the Cover of Night

_**A/N: I know, I know. It's been way too fuckin' long since I properly updated. *looks at last update in October of 2018***_

 _ **Yikes. I really didn't mean for that long of a hiatus. But massive writer's block plus work did not do me any favors. Enough of my horrible excuses; here is the chapter. Fun fact: it's named after one of my favorite tracks in Halo: CE's OST.**_

 **Fragments**

 _Summary: Carter watched her slide down the wall with a sob, her hands covering her face. "You should've said something to me, Lexi. I would've helped you." Her teary eyes met his, and she shook her head. "You don't understand. You aren't a murderer."_

 ***Under the Cover of Night***

 _July 27_ _th_ _, 2552_

 _2346 hours_

 _Noble Base_

Carter was scrolling through the various files Adam had acquired from the Elite Field Marshall that led the attack on Visegrad Relay, a frown on his face. _'An archaeological dig site under SWORD Base? What the hell have ONI uncovered?'_

He tried to bypass the files' security system that blocked him out from the data, glancing at his artificial intelligence unit. "Dot, I could use a hand here." Hacking was never his strong suit, even in the Spartan III program on Onyx. Lieutenant Ambrose certainly didn't make it easy on any of the Spartan IIIs, but hacking was one of the very few things he was not an expert in.

The AI's hologram came to life, and she gave him a curious look after looking at the files he was currently trying to access. _"Commander, I don't believe this is a document for your eyes to see. It contains highly sensitive knowledge on Sierra Beta—"_

"I'm well aware, Dot," Carter interrupted. "I'll disable what I can manually while you take a look in their system. Acknowledge last command."

" _Acknowledged. Preparing for intrusion."_ The little AI seemed as though she was getting annoyed with his constant efforts to look into just what had broken the new addition to their team. Carter prevented himself from rolling his eyes and went to work.

The first set of locks was easy for him to bypass. A few quick taps on the tablet and he soon got his first look at the personal files that contained Sierra B-312's life. A few mission reports were attached to the main file, but his focus was on her personal life.

 **CLASSIFIED/DELETE IF TAMPERED**

 _Spartan 312 of Beta Company was picked up at the age of fifteen years old on July 30_ _th_ _, 2542 after the glassing of Arcadia. Girl was quiet and withdrawn, but she eventually grew comfortable enough to come close to an ONI agent who had offered her food. The agent pitched the offer to her and she accepted._

 _On August 22_ _nd_ _, Alexis B-312 was taken to the shield world of Onyx for training under Chief Petty Officer Mendez along with the rest of Beta Company. However, complications arose by 2544. S-B312 simply outclassed the other members of Beta Company and as such, the decision to take her out of the company was made by Lieutenant Kurt Ambrose-051._

 _B-312 was soon wiped from Beta Company's roster—_

 **WARNING: UNEXPECTED INTRUSION. GOING INTO LOCKDOWN**

"Ah shit." Carter sighed and looked at Dot. "You're up."

" _As you wish, Commander. Bypassing lockdown now."_

"Thank you." Carter rubbed the weariness out of his eyes and focused on his objective. He had to find out just what had damaged the newest addition to his team in such a way that made her not only unwilling to speak but also unwilling to try and fit in, and so he carried on from where he left off.

 _B-312 was soon wiped from Beta Company's roster and became ONI's lone wolf assassin, one of her superiors going so far as to call her his personal Grim Reaper. Under the directions of the Office of Naval Intelligence, B-312 singlehandedly made entire militia groups, high ranking Insurrection officers, and high value Covenant targets disappear over the next four years. Her assassinations earned her the title of a hyper lethal vector, a ranking gifted to only one other Spartan, John-117 of Blue Team._

 _In 2548 it was discovered that she had a romantic relationship with an ODST staff sergeant by the name of Daniel Decker. Due to the possibility of her leaking ONI secrets, the lieutenant was given the order to execute him. After his assassination, B-312 started showing severe signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and was soon declared to be unfit for duty. Despite her symptoms, she refused to go on leave and continued to wage war against the Covenant and Insurrection until this year, where under the order of Admiral Parangosky she was reassigned to the Spartan III commando unit Noble Team to replace Thom A-293 following his death after the Battle of Fumirole._

 _B-312 is a gamble due to her PTSD and possibility of leaking ONI secrets. However, due to her lone wolf nature, the event of a potential leak is highly unlikely. She is not known to bond with other Spartans and will not want to interact with a team that does not want her there._

 **END OF FILE**

Carter closed the file and picked up his cup of coffee, sighing. "Thank you for your assistance, Dot. I very much appreciate it." _'Fuck me. I knew that she was being bothered by something, but I sure as shit didn't expect this. Being forced to murder your own significant other and countless potential innocents would break even a Spartan's mental state.'_

" _Always a pleasure to help you, Commander. Let me know if you require my assistance again."_ With her last words Dot's hologram vanished with a faint whisper of a noise, leaving the commander of Noble Team alone again.

He wasn't sure what the hell he was supposed to do about his new number six. The woman was deadly in combat, even more so against Elites. Her skill with combat knives was above even Emile's and the old bastard practically slept with the damn kukri he had attached to his armor. However, he couldn't deny that she was a liability in her current condition. What if she froze up in the middle of a firefight, unable to even fire her gun? She could potentially get someone killed.

Carter stood up from his desk and picked up his headset, placing it on his head. _'There's a possibility that can happen. However, she is still the most lethal Spartan III in existence and the only one who could help us push the Covenant off of Reach.'_

" _Commander?"_ Adam's voice crackled through the headset. _"What's going on?"_

"We've got…a situation," Carter replied quietly. "I found out what's damaged our new addition to the point where her mind is a remnant of what it once was, and it isn't pretty. I'll send you the file now."

" _Standing by, sir."_ If he had to give one reason why he trusted Adam with such valuable information, Carter would say it was because of Noble Seven's incredible trait that was very hard to find in the UNSC these days. He could keep a secret.

Adam didn't even mention to Halsey that the hinge-head who stole the data from Visegrad Relay was dead. In his words, if she couldn't find it out herself then it wasn't important to her. It was the same kind of mindset that kept him from telling the rest of Noble Team of his existence. If they weren't smart enough to figure out that there was a secret addition to Noble Team aiding them when they needed it most, then they didn't need to know.

"They should be sent by now," Carter said. "Feel free to look at them at your leisure. You'll find the contents to explain a lot more about our new number six."

" _Looking over it now. Fucking hell, Commander. She's had it rough, even by Spartan standards,"_ Adam muttered as he read them. _"A few mission logs show she expressed her discomfort during the interrogation processes of Elite prisoners of war and suspected Insurrection leaders. Then having to kill your own lover? Shit."_

"No wonder she's as damaged as she is right now," Carter agreed. "Status report on the situation at Sword Base?"

" _ONI scientists are extracting bits of the Covenant Corvette from the lake. Covenant have been attempting to send active camouflage Elites in to scout out the area for any more weaknesses. Don't worry; none of the bastards have gotten passed me,"_ Adam replied with a hint of a chuckle. _"They forget they're more visible when they try and move quickly."_

Carter frowned. Normally the Covenant wouldn't bother with sending in scouts after a failed siege. They'd just fall back and glass the planet from orbit. That meant they were interested in something hidden beneath Sword Base and would stop at nothing to get their greedy hands on it. _'I don't like this. Something else is at work here.'_

"Keep an eye on Sword Base for one more night," he ordered. "After that, I'm sending you out to be Recon Team Charlie. I'll need you to scout out an area to the northwest that was rumored to be a landing zone for an Elite Zealot."

" _Ah, another hunt? You certainly know how to spoil me, Commander."_ Adam chuckled. _"Don't worry. I'll make sure the son of a bitch begs me to kill him. Adam out."_ He flicked off the COM and left Carter wondering what the hell he was to do with Noble Six.

He now knew everything he needed to know. He had in his hands the reasons why she was as damaged as she was mentally. All he had to do was decide what to do with that knowledge. Did he take her off the team and request her to be on medical leave until her mind was stable enough for combat? Or did he take the gamble and keep it private?

' _We need all the soldiers we can get. And traumatized or not, she is still the best Spartan III the UNSC has to offer.'_ Carter made up his mind and logged off of the computer.

He stood up from his sitting position and stretched his muscular frame, cracking his neck. It was still an hour or so away before he had to wake up Emile for the graveyard watch shift, so there was no point in him retreating to bed just yet. _'Fuck it. Might as well work up a good sweat or two before I go wake Emile.'_

He could feel the headache he would inevitably get from the security specialist complaining about being woken up at the ass end of night. Emile may have been a Spartan, but he hated waking up early for anything short of a booty call. And even then, he'd find some way to bitch about it.

Carter pulled on a shirt that hugged his upper body and walked out, heading down to the gym for a nice workout. He liked training at night; there were no distractions to bother him in the middle of a time trial or tap on his shoulder while he fired a DMR. It was so quiet and peaceful.

The halls were quiet as his bare feet barely made a whisper of a noise, the commander humming a gentle tune as he prepared to get in a few good rounds in the hand to hand combat simulation room.

His brisk pace allowed him to reach it within less than a minute. When he entered the simulation room he saw that he wasn't the only one who thought about working out late at night. Noble Six herself was also in the training room.

Carter didn't want to disrupt her and kept his mouth shut, silently watching as her hands struck the spinning glowing targets. He had seen her in the room before, a few nights before the attack on Sword Base. She moved with all the fluidness of a dancer, spinning and flipping to hit her targets with remarkable speed that he didn't possess.

He could see the surgical scars that lined her arms, a reminder of the treatment they all went at the hands of Lieutenant Ambrose during augmentation. She didn't notice him enter and continued her display of incredible athleticism. The more he watched, the more he realized it was more than just an attempt to hit targets.

She was essentially shadow boxing, fighting against a group of invisible enemies. When it reset for her to go again, she started out cautious, looking for openings in her unseen enemies' defensive line. She whirled around and went to the right with a devastating kick to the midsection, disabling them. Her elbow swung up and caught another in the jaw, knocking him out.

The tides began to turn. Gone was the cautious woman and in her place was the UNSC's best assassin. They fell one by one despite overwhelming odds and the last one was left. She hit it with a wicked punch to the head and the fight was over. She had won.

If anyone's hands had been built for war, it was Alexis B-31 2. Carter winced inwardly at that. In their case, they were literally built for it. Built to be the deadliest sons of bitches in the UNSC, crushing their Covenant enemies like glass.

"Well done," he said, breaking the silence.

The lieutenant glanced at him briefly and stepped out of the ring, reaching for her towel to wipe the sweat off of her body. "Do you always spy on newcomers?"

Carter hadn't expected her to speak to him, even after she finally opened her mouth after the Visegrad report he gave to Doctor Halsey. "It's a rotating schedule. Can't afford to be accused of playing favorites."

Noble Six blew a strand of hair out of her face and dried herself off. "What do you want? You're not here to make small talk."

"No, I'm not," Carter admitted. He approached her until they were standing face to face and he could see the pain her eyes held. She was doing a good job at holding back from the rest of the team, but he knew better. He knew the shit she had gone through and been forced to do under orders from ONI.

He glanced at the silver dog tags that hung around her neck and reached for it. Noble Six backed away from him, her gaze trying to harden. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Carter sighed. He expected her to be defensive like this. "I know what you went through. I saw your file. The complete file, not the summarized version that ONI gave me when I requested your assistance."

Alexis's eyes widened briefly before hardening again and looking away. "So what? You think you fucking know what I went through? You don't know a goddamned thing, commander."

"I know you had a relationship with an ODST."

 _That_ got her attention focused back on him. Her hands balled into tight fists, shaking by her side. "Don't you fucking _dare_ say his name." Her whole body was shaking now and she threw a punch at the wall. "Fuck!"

The punch had enough force behind it to put a large dent in the metal and she slowly lowered her fist, bright red from the impact. "Dammit…why? Why him?"

Carter watched her slide down the wall with a sob, her hands covering her face. "You should've said something to me, Lexi. I would've helped you."

Her teary gaze met his, and she shook her head. "You don't understand. You're not a murderer. You didn't do the things I did. I butchered innocents. You didn't. For you, it's simple. Two jaws, good. Four jaws, bad."

"Maybe," Carter conceded, taking a seat next to her. "But I know how the human mind works. You lost him as a result of ONI and started showing symptoms of PTSD. Nightmares and flashbacks, primarily. Yet despite being diagnosed with it, you refused to go on medical leave. Why?"

Alexis shook her head, pulling out the dog tags and running a finger over them. "I…I don't know. Why the fuck do you care so goddamned much?"

"Because you're a part of my unit and under my responsibility," Carter replied. "Lexi, I know you haven't been sleeping. Your movements in the raid on Sword Base were far more sluggish than they were a few nights prior. Even today, they aren't as fluid as they were at Visegrad."

"Then fucking discharge me," she snarled in pained defiance. "I don't need your goddamned pity. It won't bring him back."

"I'm not going to do that." Carter remained firm. "Not while you are under my command."

"Dammit, why!?" Alexis glared at him through teary eyes. "Why are you doing this? Trying to make me feel better? And don't give me that 'because we're a team' bullshit. You know as well as I do that I'll never be considered as part of this team. I'm not blind, commander. I see how the others look at me."

Carter winced. He wouldn't lie to her; the other members of Noble Team were still mourning Thom's death in their own way and saw her as an intruder. Kat especially. Jorge had begun to respect her after her performance at Visegrad which saw her take down three Zealots practically singlehanded and was more his usual self around the Spartan.

Emile was always an asshole, no matter who it was. That couldn't be helped. Jun wasn't too sure what to make of her and thus kept his opinions to himself. But Kat hadn't liked her from the minute she stepped into Noble Base. Kat had been close to Thom and never stopped blaming herself for his death, even though Carter and Colonel Holland had told her numerous times that he made his choice.

"Look at you. You didn't even fucking deny it." Alexis let out a scoff and allowed her head to hit the wall. "What's stopping you from having me removed? It would be so much easier."

"Because I'm better than that." Carter refused to budge and stood up. "So whenever you've had enough moping around and decide to be the Spartan that I know you can be, you know where you can find me."

He went to leave when her hand grabbed onto his wrist and he found himself looking at those bright eyes again. "Carter…don't go."

The commander gave a small smile and helped her to her feet. "Alright. Then let's get started."

 _ **A/N: And so the healing begins. Will it magically get cured by the next chapter? Fuck no! Six's PTSD is gonna continue to show throughout the fic. Next chapter is the Nightfall mission, my absolute favorite. What can I say, I love the SRS99 rifle XD. Hopefully I can update it a lot sooner than…*looks* Um…I kinda lost count of how many months…please don't kill me.**_

 _ **C. Strife#5371**_

 _ **Xbox gamertag: Agent Massa**_


End file.
